Twilight? No, LIElight!
by TRDancer
Summary: Bella's life is extremely boring. When she moves to Forks, she takes matters into her own hands and invents a whole new Bella. But what happens when Edward breaks through the shell new Bella has built? Will Bella be able to hide her secret? AU w/ Vampires
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_BPOV_

I leaned back against the wall, exhausted. I was never joining a basketball team again in my life. Who cares if it was required? I was too clumsy for it, and besides, it was too much stress, with all the pressure my teammates put on me to not screw things up for them, and the coach was constantly--oh, no. Here he came again. I grabbed my water bottle from the floor and busied myself drinking it.

"Bella. I need you to try to get inside the key, arms up, move out towards the ball; don't get scared of it, seriously, it won't hurt you..." That's what he thought. Of course the ball would hurt me. That was its sole purpose in life. The only inanimate object that had it in worse than that ball was the floor.

I continued to pretend to listen to the Coach while still staring longingly at my mother, who was sitting in the bleachers on the other side of the gym. Why couldn't she hang up her stupid cell phone and come drag me out of this mess? I wanted nothing more than to leave this place, get far away from here somehow. I was just waiting for the day Renee would make the announcement that we were moving. With my new step-dad Phil Dwyer trying to get a new job with a baseball team, it was inevitable that it would happen. I just wasn't sure it would happen soon enough for my taste.

"Are you listening to me, Bella?" Coach asked. I nodded, rolling my eyes at him. "I'm just trying to help you get better..." he went off on a ramble again, and I tuned him out, favouring instead my plans for a new school.

A new school would mean a whole new Bella; one who wasn't typical, boring, in-the-background, and not worth thinking of. The new school Bella would be silent, secluded, an enigma, a mystery to all, and should they manage to break through her shell... well, I'd deal with that if it happened. I took another sip of my water and glanced at the score clock. 2:04 to go in the fourth period. I wasn't going to be put back on, so why the coach had bothered to give me a lecture and why I even had to keep sitting on the bench were both mysteries to me.

"Bella? Your mom's waving at you," my friend nudged me and I looked across the gym to see that Renee was indeed standing by the door, waving at me to come talk to her. Not pausing to ask the coach if it was okay, I jogged across the court, thankful they were trying to sink a basket down the other end. I made it across unharmed, though I did trip slightly and land on the door-handle a bit loudly, crashing through the door harder than I had meant to.

"Hey, Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, worried.

"Phil just called," she began. I rolled my eyes; what else was new? "He's flying to Florida tonight so he can audition for a baseball team tomorrow, and he wants me to go with him." She bit her lip and looked at me hesitantly. I nodded encouragingly.

"That's great! What's the problem?"

"I don't want to leave you here all by yourself, Bella! If he gets the job, which is likely, we'll be flying back and forth frequently before we eventually move there… and I can't do that to you. But..." Even though she didn't finish her sentence I knew what she meant. She didn't want to leave Phil either, considering they had just gotten married 3 months ago. She would do it, but she didn't want to. I, however, saw a great opening in this latest development.

"It's fine, Mom. How about I go stay with Charlie for awhile? He'll like that, won't he? Chance to get to know his daughter..." I trailed off, not sure what else to say about my father. Renee had left him when I was only a few months old and I had spent summers with him in rainy Forks, Washington, the complete opposite of my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, but those summers had ended when I rebelled at the age of 12 and forced Charlie to vacation with me in California instead.

I watched her eyes widen at my suggestion, though I was sure she had already thought of it.

"Really, Bella? You want to go live in _Forks_?" She said it like a dirty word, which, to her, it most definitely was. I nodded.

"If it will make you and Phil happy, why not? And plus, I haven't had Charlie-bonding time for awhile now."

She smiled, and her eyes absolutely lit up with the happiness that I wasn't going to get mad that I was moving to Forks. "Perfect!" she squealed, flipping out her phone, no doubt to call Phil.

I smiled and turned back to the gym, where cheers from our team filled the air. The sounds voiced the feelings inside me perfectly. Here it was, set out on a silver platter for me, the chance of a lifetime. The chance to remake myself. I was choosing to make myself a dark person, but my life was so boring, it needed some interest added to it. And I was taking those matters into my own hands.

~*~

I stared in despair at my closet. It was entirely inappropriate, Forks weather-wise and new Bella-wise. I flipped through the numerous tank tops and baby T-shirts in bright colours and sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. I set to work eliminating everything colourful that I owned, folding them neatly into boxes for my mother to take to Florida when she and Phil moved.

Completely horrible colours for new Bella were red, orange, yellow, light green, light blue, light purple, and especially not pink. Acceptable colours were black, brown, dark grey, and in total just everything I could find that could be defined as _dark._ These dark clothes I folded in typical neat Bella fashion and placed in my gigantic duffel bag.

Staring at the small amount of clothes, so meticulously placed in the bag, I suddenly started to fume. Wasn't this what I was avoiding? The perfection that was all around me, choking me every day? Wasn't I trying to break free? I grabbed all the clothes and messed up the folding, tossing them in the duffel carelessly. I stood back and admired my handiwork. Now _that_ said new Bella.

What else would be a defining point of new Bella? I glanced around my bedroom, begging it to tell me the answers. And, surprisingly enough, it did tell me. I saw my red iPod glinting in the Phoenix sunlight on the desk. It was something I rarely listened to, only sometimes pulling it out to relax before bed. I decided it would be inseparable from new Bella. If the earphones weren't in her ears, they were going to be hanging around her neck. This would definitely pile on the mystery. The other people would always want to know what I was listening to, why I was hiding behind the hoods of my sweaters, and why I never talked. Because new Bella wasn't going to talk. Oh no, new Bella had been through too much trauma for talking.

I hadn't decided what the trauma the new me had suffered was, but I figured it wasn't exactly important. I wasn't going to let anyone close enough to me to feel comfortable enough to ask me what had happened. That was another part of it. By distancing myself from other people, I could avoid boring high school drama, and instead experience the fun kind of drama, the kind you read about in books.

This was a game, all about outer appearances and acting skills. If I looked depressed and traumatized, I was sure the drama of a depressed and traumatized person would come after me. I was counting on it.

Now that I had the clothes and 'accessories' planned, minus the shopping trip I was taking with my mother later, how was I going to make my actual face look the part? Make-up seemed like a good choice, but I didn't have much experience there. I could put normal make-up on, but otherwise, I had no idea. I wanted to look tired, like I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. I was already albino pale and slim. New Bella was going to be much worse than this. I didn't see any other way to do it. I was going to have to actually not sleep sometimes, and if I did sleep, maybe I could put some sort of purple powdered stuff on to make it look like I hadn't.

It was one big game, and I was the main player.

~*~

"Are you sure you'll be fine? You don't have to do this you know," Renee looked at me. I was wearing a dark green tank top and jeans, a happy medium between new and old Bella. I didn't want to scare Renee, but there was no avoiding scaring Charlie in Forks. Hopefully he'd think this was how I'd always looked. My carry-on bag contained my sweater, a parka, the iPod that had just been updated with what I deemed to be new Bella songs, and make-up to make myself look tired. I had been practicing, and I was actually pretty good at it.

"I want to do this, Mom," I reminded her. It was a good thing it wasn't a lie, considering I was a horrible liar. "Remember, father-daughter bonding time?" I smiled at her and leaned in for a hug just as the first boarding call for my flight was announced.

"There's your flight, Bella," she said, pulling away from the hug. I grinned and picked up my bag, waving at her. I felt a pang of regret at leaving her here alone, but really, she wasn't alone. She had Phil now. I kept that in mind as I found my seat and settled in for the flight. All there was to worry about now was making my connection in Seattle and then the hour long ride in Charlie's police cruiser.

~*~

Luck was on my side today. Not only had I made the connection in Seattle, but the flight had been late, giving me time to put on my sweater and make-up at the airport.

An hour later, I landed in Port Angeles to find Charlie waiting for me with the biggest smile on his face. I had my iPod earphones crossed loosely behind my neck so that they hung in front, and my hood was up to avoid getting my hair or face wet, but I didn't see any reason to act particularly new Bella-like when it was just me and Charlie. So I grinned back at him and threw my arms around him enthusiastically.

"Hey, Dad! How's life?" I watched for my duffel, which, dovetailing perfectly with the good luck I'd already had today, was one of the very first bags out. I snatched it off the carousel.

"Great, Bella. You look different," he commented, taking my bag from me and leading me to the police cruiser. I cringed a bit at the thought of riding in it, but got in without a word.

"It's been a while," I waved his comment off. We rode in silence for a while, which suited us both fine. I had gotten my speech habits from my father.

"Do you remember Billy Black from the reservation?" he asked me, glancing out of the corner of his eyes. I shook my head.

"No."

"We used to go fishing with him, and you'd play with his daughters..." Ah, fishing. That was why I didn't remember. I had a tendency to block painful, unnecessary memories from my brain. "Well, anyways, he just recently got a wheelchair, so he can't drive his truck anymore, and he was wondering if you wanted it."

"How old is it?" I asked skeptically. Charlie knew I had been saving for a car and was planning to buy one so I didn't have to be transported in the police cruiser or walk in the pouring rain.

"I think it was new in the early 60's or something..." he said sheepishly, glancing at me again. He was obviously surprised by my looks.

"Really, Dad? That's ancient! What if I need repairs? How much does it cost?" I couldn't debate about that at least.

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you," he looked at me again, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Nice. It was free of charge.

"You didn't have to do that. I was going to buy myself a car." He didn't have to, but I was happy he had. More money for me!

"It's nothing. I want you to be comfortable here; and besides, Billy's son was pretty desperate to get rid of the thing. He'll do repairs for you, by the way,"

The thing? He had to refer to it as a _thing_? '_It better not be a broken down piece of garbage.__' _Charlie obviously saw the look on my face because he laughed.

"It's not that bad, Bella. I'm sure you'll like it," he chuckled again, and I picked my iPod earphones up off my neck and shoved them in my ears, signaling the conversation was over. I turned it to a calming song and relaxed.

All too soon, we passed an ancient sign that read 'Welcome to Forks.' I sat up straighter and pulled my hood to cover my face some. I couldn't risk people seeing old Bella at all in this town, except Charlie.

We pulled up to the curb and I got out of the car, shoving my hands in my pockets and staring at the truck in the driveway. It was dull red, with a bulbous cab; and I immediately fell in love with it. I walked up to it and ran my hand along the side.

"It's great, Charlie," I said quietly, not wanting anybody on the street to hear me talk. I went up to the door and waited for him to come with my bags. When he arrived I took my carry-on bag from him and smiled. He unlocked the door and we stepped inside the house that hadn't changed since the day Renee had left.

The cupboards in the kitchen were still bright yellow, painted by Renee in an attempt to bring sunshine into the house. Grade school pictures of me were lined up in the living room. We headed up the stairs to my room.

It was exactly the same as it had always been: bed in the corner, rocking chair in the other corner, dressers against the wall by the door. The same yellowing lace curtains hung on the window and the walls were still painted light blue. There was a computer on top of the desk in the left corner of the room, with the cords stapled along the floor.

"Here's your room, then. Bathroom's across the hall, though I'm sure you knew that," he chuckled, backing out of the room. I nodded. At least he wasn't hovering; that was a good thing about Charlie.

I crossed to the bathroom with my bag of toiletries and inspected myself in the mirror. Even though it had been more than 2 hours since I had put the make-up on, it was still intact, no smudges at all. I rinsed my face off and looked up again. My eyes were already showing actual light purple circles. If I didn't sleep at all, or well, tonight, then I wouldn't need to put on make-up in the morning. The thought cheered me as I got in the shower. I really detested make-up.

The water on my back felt nice and smoothed out my travel-exhausted muscles. I lathered up my hair with strawberry scented shampoo, the one thing I had allowed new Bella to keep. Who was going to smell my hair anyways? And this stuff only cost 2 dollars. '_Even new Bella likes cheap things.'_

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a fluffy towel before changing into my PJs. For pajamas, I had a black t-shirt and black sweats. In Phoenix, I had considered getting my hair dyed black, but decided the chocolate brown it was would do. Besides, that would have made Renee and Charlie ask questions.

I tossed myself onto my bed with the door closed, considering what to do to stay awake for awhile. I'd probably just read. Or... I spotted my heap of clothes with my iPod lying on top. I'd listen to music until Charlie went to bed. I hopped up again and picked it up. I spun the click wheel until it landed on a _Linkin Park _album Phil had recently bought me that I would normally consider too loud, but had decided was perfect for new Bella, and so downloaded onto my iPod. I then hit play and lost myself in the beat of the music, surprised to find that I actually liked it. I'd have to thank Phil again.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington:** From here on out, I'll just be 'LM.' Alright, peoples, this story is epic. Trust me, it will make you fall over in laughter, causing those around you to wonder if you are high. I'm beta for TRDancer's chapters, and co-writer for EPOV when TRD is beta. This will be worth a read and we have steady updates for the schedule as we already finished 30+ chapters and are currently working on even more. Chapters will be short, but constant. They are just funnier that way. Hope you all enjoy!

**TRDancer: **So, yeah, Leon said it all. I write BPOV, he writes EPOV, and then you all read what we wrote. Then, all of you review. Because the button loves to be clicked. I insist upon saying this a lot, you will discover. Because it's true. Really.

**Leon McFrenchington**: See, like I said, consistent and constant updates! And geeze, can't you already imagine this Bella falling all over her lies later on? *cackle* Seriously, around Edward when she's 'dazzled'… I can't wait. Review, peeps, and we'll be nice and give you virtual cookies and replies.

**TRDancer: **Yeah, I'm all over replying to reviews. It could seriously be one of my favourite things to do. Sadly, I can't do it unless you actually DO review. Clicks the button, people. I will love you for all my life. (And there are cookies. How can you resist??)

**Leon McFrenchington:** If one person says "OOC," I will smack them. Obviously it's OOC… that's the basis of the story. We're going to be going through a lot of set-up for a while until we get to the true humor (though humor will make it's way in, no worries). Also, short chapters = constant updates. Not many people update a story 3 times a week. With that said, review and check out my other stories. They need some TLC. And review TRD's other stories, too. She's such an awesome writer.

Also, use the word "epic" in your reviews. That's TRD's favorite word.

**TRDancer: **If you guys say "epic" in your review, I will kill you. It is NOT my favourite word.

Yeah. She's OOC purposefully. Feel the love, not the hate. And you may be asking, where's Edward's POV? Well, it's not the next chapter, though Edward is IN that chapter... heh heh. So, now you can REVIEW!! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_BPOV_

I woke up from a 4 hour sleep with a disturbing thought. I had planned out new Bella pretty well, but in all the stories I had read that had inspired me to do this, the main character had had a trigger that sent them into what their peers usually called "emotional fits" or something like that. I hadn't planned a trigger because I didn't have a traumatic incident planned either.

By the time I was starting my truck, I had a traumatic incident outlined in my head and my trigger was decided. New Bella couldn't stand to touch girls. At all. It was strange, but it worked with being sucked into a weird cult group and being forced to do undetermined—as of yet—things by a whole bunch of evil teenage girls.

I pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, heading for the school. It wasn't walking distance from Charlie's house, but it wasn't a very far drive either. The school was only distinguishable by the sign that declared it to be Forks High. To me, it just looked like a cluster of buildings hidden in too much green. A pang of nostalgia hit me. Where were the chain link fences and feelings of institution?

I parked in front of a building marked 'Office' and gave myself a mini-pep talk inside my head before going inside the building to get my schedule._ 'Now, Bella, don__'__t forget to not talk, don__'__t touch the secretary__'__s hand…' _I jumped out of the truck while repeating my mantra in my head. I pulled my hood even farther over my face, my head down, eyes flicking up carefully to make sure I didn't trip.

As I pulled the office door open, the secretary looked up at me and smiled. I resisted old Bella's urge to smile back at her and instead kept my face distant.

"Hello, dear. Who might you be?" the secretary, whose nameplate read Ms. Cope, asked. I handed her a slip of paper, careful to not let my fingers brush hers.

"Bella Swan," she read. "Can you not talk?" I stared at the floor, hoping she wouldn't persist. She apparently chose not to, and I heard her fingers click over the keyboard again, and then the printer made noise. I cautiously looked up. Ms. Cope's hand shoved a schedule toward me, which I took.

"Everybody's been anticipating your arrival, Bella," I heard her call to me as I was already halfway out the door. I let the door fall closed behind me, drowning out her next words.

Getting back in my truck, I followed the steady stream of old style vehicles to the student parking lot, glad to know my 'new' truck fit in. The only standout was a shiny silver Volvo. There were bound to be some rich kids, I supposed.

I glanced at my schedule once I had found a parking spot. I had English first period. That was sure to be entertaining. To old Bella. But not to new Bella.

I made to get out of the truck again, but my foot missed the grip and I slipped, landing in the mud, my stuff behind me. To make things worse, I thought I could feel someone's foot underneath me. I blushed and grabbed my backpack, hauling myself up with my truck and turning around.

"Are you okay?" a musical voice asked me. I glanced up to see a good looking boy with bronze coloured hair looking at me with concern. I nodded, concentrating on the ground again, heading in the general direction of the buildings I had seen. "That's good," I heard, fainter now, and a bit like the boy was trying to hide something. I glanced up again to see that he was walking off in the direction of the silver Volvo. I shrugged it off and ran towards the buildings. I had the feeling I was going to be late for my first class in Forks.

~*~

I walked into Government nervously, not sparing a glance at the un-hygienic boy—Eric, I think—who had shown me the way here from English, which incidentally, I_ had_ been late for. I chose a random spot in the back row, sitting down and tapping my fingers to an unheard beat on the desk.

"That's my spot," I looked up to see a blonde, blue eyed boy smiling at me and gesturing at the seat next to the one I was currently sitting in. "But no one sits in that one." I blushed and looked down again, sliding out of the desk and into the one next to it as he sat in the spot I vacated.

"So, you're Isabella Swan, right?" I nodded, concentrating on the soft rhythm of my fingers tapping again. I wanted to correct his use of my full name, but I didn't know of any way to do it without speaking. "From Phoenix? Isn't it sunny there? Is it really different here? I mean, I guess it is since it rains a lot here..."

I nodded again; glad he was asking yes or no questions. I furrowed my brows as I attempted to figure out what song the beat I was tapping was from. Mike continued to fire questions at me.

"... Newton?" Mike's head snapped up.

"Yes, sir?" he asked the teacher politely.

"I was merely taking attendance, Mr. Newton. Now, moving on... Isabella Swan?" I swallowed. The teachers took attendance? But… but the English teacher hadn't! I looked up at Mike, panicked. He was looking at me, bewildered. I stared at him pleadingly.

"She's here," Mike said, taking the hint. The teacher grunted, not seeming to care that I wasn't the one who had said it. I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to staring at my desk.

Halfway through class, I glanced back up to notice Mike looking at me curiously. He smiled slightly when he saw me looking at him and shoved a piece of paper at my desk after glancing at the teacher.

**-So... Bella. Can I call you Bella, not Isabella? It****'****s easier to say.-**

I smiled slightly. _'__Yes! Now people won__'__t call me Isabella all day long. Like Charlie obviously does behind my back.__'_

**-Yeah, I actually hate Isabella.-**

I shoved the paper back at him. I watched out of the corner of my eye as his grin increased in size as he wrote something on the paper. He gave it back.

**-Well, Bella. Will you go out with me on Friday to Port Angeles?-**

I gaped slightly at the note. He had known me for all of forty minutes and he was asking me out? That was random. Not to mention that there was no way I was going out with him.

**-Sorry. I****'****m too busy moving in.-**

I balled the note up in frustration and threw it at him in finality. He unfolded it and frowned, disappointed.

I leaned back in my chair, my fingers picking up their rhythm again. I tried to center back on what the teacher was saying about... war, but my mind was too busy deciphering the rhythms of the tapping again.

By the time the bell rang for Trigonometry I had it figured out. The song I had been tapping, ironically, had been Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings. I snorted quietly to myself as I gathered my books; the snort turning to a groan when I noticed Mike waiting for me.

Two things were for sure: I wasn't Juliet, and I wasn't checking yes on Mike Newton.

_EPOV_

The sun began to rise, signaling another start of day. But it was endless—days did not matter anymore. Each hour spent awake was another spent thinking of this solitude.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Getting up from my couch, I walked over to the closet and grabbed the first pair of jeans and T-shirt I saw.

"Edward! Hurry up, I can't wait to go to school today," Alice's voice sang from downstairs. Peeking into her mind, I saw that she was reciting _Homer_ in Portuguese.

"What are you trying to hide from me, Alice?" I called as I opened my door and flew down the stairs. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, meeting everyone in the living room, ready to depart for another morning. I narrowed my eyes on her when I noticed her grin double in size.

"Oh, nothing," she giggled.

"Careful, Alice, you might split your face, smiling like that and all," I grumbled as I brushed past my siblings, annoyed.

"Cheer up, you're really ruining the day and it's just begun," Emmett said from behind me. We all exited the house and walked toward my Volvo.

"He's right; living with you is about as pleasant as listening to EMO children complain about their lives after they find out their allowance is being cut off," Jasper laughed, punching me on the arm. I glared at them, not in the mood for any nonsense.

"Would you just shut it? I don't feel like talking right now," I seethed, clearly further annoyed with their behavior.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Emmett muttered as we all hopped into the car. I shoved the key in the ignition and pulled out quickly, pressing the accelerator as I rushed past the trees blocking our home from the street. A quick turn put us on the path and all was quiet.

All except for the thoughts of my siblings.

I groaned as they all went off in their heads: complaining, planning, thinking dirty thoughts about Rosalie, and reciting _Homer_ in Portuguese.

I pushed the gas further, going even quicker than I normally do. We arrived at the school shortly. Today was the day a new girl, Isabella Swan, would be coming to town. She was in the thoughts of everyone at the school.

As my siblings exited the car and made their way for their waiting spots, I leaned back into my seat and turned the music on. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I tried to block the adolescent minds now arriving at the school. While living in a small, dreary town was preferable to larger cities because it gave us the chance to linger and connect, it also meant dealing with the same people often.

No one in this town had a surprise, a secret, or an interest. They were shallow and dull, and my notice left quickly enough. The major thoughts involved me or my siblings as the stars of rather… graphic fantasies. Teenagers highly exaggerated _everything_.

_'__Hello, dear. Who might you be?__'_ I heard Ms. Cope in the office, watching a girl who was deeply covered and pale. The girl handed Ms. Cope a note, which showed the words _Bella Swan_ through her eyes. I focused a bit more attention on the conversation, hoping the new human would at least provide me a day's worth of entertainment.

But nothing.

It was as if no one was standing next to Ms. Cope. Was she literally blank of all thoughts?

I saw the girl grab a handful of papers from the secretary and quickly turn around, not bothering to thank her or even acknowledge her. She disappeared as soon she walked through the door, Ms. Cope's mind no longer seeing her as she wasn't present, but thoughts remaining on the silent girl.

I sighed once more and went back to listening to the music, drowning out the thoughts as much as I could. My eyes closed, I heard rather than saw a large car park close to mine. Grunting, I realized I would have to get ready to leave.

I grabbed my backpack, filled with its mediocre books, and left the car in one motion. I began to walk over to the buildings, weaving past the cars, until someone opened their door and blocked my path. She stepped out and I noticed it was the girl in the office. The new girl. _Bella Swan_.

She was covered, head to toe, from behind the door. I watched as her foot reached for the grip but missed. She landed on her back, her legs on my feet. I suddenly felt horrible, but I couldn't tell why.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned for this human.

She stole a glance at me, her hoodie and layers of clothing blocking everything except for her face. Her cheeks reddened as she grabbed her bag and pulled herself up.

She nodded curtly, gazing intently at the ground. She then turned heel and walked away from me quickly before I even had a chance to breathe.

"That's good," I muttered, shocked by her abrasive and silent attitude. Most females tended to do the opposite. I shook my head and walked back to my car, realizing I had a project in the trunk that was due in Spanish and it would make more sense to just drop it off now, rather than come back during the intervals between classes.

As I reached my car and opened the trunk, grabbing the poster, I turned to see the girl run into the buildings, tripping over nothing before standing up again and walking through the doors. I chuckled.

Then it hit me. I was distracted earlier… by what, I couldn't quite pinpoint.

But I hadn't heard a single thought from her the whole time.

~*~

The first half of the day had gone by quickly. I was sitting in Spanish class, waiting for my turn to do the presentation. Standing in front of the class was not something I enjoyed.

"Eh… Emmett Cullen," the teacher stuttered out as he got up and shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't want to do the project. I already have an 'A,' sorry," he said casually. I snorted at his consistent childishness.

"Just sit down, Mr. Cullen," she glared, shaking her head. "I'm sure you can learn a thing or two from your _responsible_ brother. Edward, would you please present your project?"

I went up to the front of the class and began my presentation. The girls began to drool while the guys thought of either hiring a hit man or switching lives with me or one of my brothers. I rolled my eyes, their horrible infatuations not worth mocking.

As I finished the oral part of the project, handing the project to the teacher, I heard the students begin to talk in the back.

"Hey, have you seen that Bella chick?" Tyler whispered to Ben. I could hear Tyler's already-too-annoying thoughts become even more annoying, whereas Ben's were simply curious.

"Uh, yeah. She seems nice," Ben replied quietly.

"What? She doesn't talk, she freaks out when people get too close to her, and she is just _weird_."

"I'm sure she's just shy."

"Whatever. She's pretty damn hot though."

For some reason, I felt very angry. In fact, I was furious. '_How dare he talk about her like that—he doesn't even know her.'_

There was also another emotion I couldn't quite describe, but it left a pang in my mind, bothering my thoughts.

I walked back to my seat, turned, and glared at Tyler. He quickly caught my gaze and whimpered back, dropping his eyes to his table. I laughed weakly at how easily intimidated these kids were. Then I realized what I had just done.

Even if they didn't know I was angry because of their gossiping—really, only angry at Tyler—I did. I had defended Bella. As I thought about why, the bell rang, signaling lunch.

I shrugged the idea off. '_It's because she is a lady and it was the right thing to do, no matter how subtle.' _I waited for my brother to gather his things at human pace before we stalked off to the cafeteria.

_'Only half a day to go. What could go wrong?'_

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: HAHA, MIKE GOT TOLD! EPIC! *snicker* Epic… *snicker snicker* Anyway, guess what POV is next chapter? That's right, you all know it! *dramatic pause…* CHARLIE! Ha, could you imagine? Nah, it's EPOV, finally. Hope you all like it, I always get good reviews when I do EPOV because apparently I do it well, so hopefully I did this time too. Also, both of us got the Twilight DVD. EPIC!! Review.

**TRDancer**: Lolz. Indeed, it is the epic Charlie POV next chapter, rawr. No, no. It's Edward, as he said. Quit using epic out of context, Leon. I mean, really. It's not necessary. And by the way, everyone, listen to the song mentioned in the chapter. Because it's good and has been stuck in my head! (And also btw, if you bought your Twilight Special Edition DVD at HMV, I got it cheaper than you. Wal-Mart is sexay. HAH. Lol.) Now review your butt off. :D

**Leon McFrenchington**: Woohoo, EPOV! How'd ya like it? I love writing Edward, if none of you can tell, but I've been stuck doing a lot of Bella lately, so I'm enjoy this story because Edward is _mine_! Again, feel free to shower me with praise ;) Kidding, ha, I'm not like that--I just enjoy writing Edward and I think I can catch his character quite well, moreso than I can with other characters, which really isn't saying much... Alright, well, review and check out my profile. I got some new stories up. Also, epic. Just because I can. And TRD loves it. No matter how much she denies it. Love you, TRD :)

**TRDancer**: Yah, it was EPOV. NEXT is Charlie. Okay, never mind. :D Leon's great at EPOV. I don't know how I am at writing Edward's POV, because I've never tried. Oh, wait, yes I have... in Oxygen. Now you all have to go read that and tell me if I write Edward decently (hint, hint.) Okay, guys, review, and I'll send you bad replies that don't answer questions that you ask Leon, because I'm not Leon (oh, how I wish I was... jk!) And I will never admit that I love the word epic. Ever. Love you too, Leon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_BPOV_

I weaved my way to the cafeteria, cringing away from the girls mingling around me. The few hours this morning already had old Bella transformed into new Bella, depressed iPod girl. I had kept my iPod headphones looped conspicuously around my neck all morning, and I took the moment I now had standing in the lunch line to shove them in my ears and turn the music on just loud enough to hear.

"Hi!" chirped a girl from behind me. I didn't respond, as I had ignored the various guys wanting to walk me to classes, though I glanced at her from under my hood.

"I'm Jessica, and you're Bella Swan. Mike told me you don't talk, but that's okay because I like to talk a lot, so I'll talk enough for both of us! So you're from Phoenix, right? I've always wanted to go there..." I almost laughed out loud as I listened to Jessica's monologue, but I slapped my apathetic face back on before anyone could look at me, hopefully.

Once we had our food, Jessica led me over to a table and slid into a spot next to Mike. I chose a spot next to a boy I didn't recognize, and as I sat down, I glanced across the cafeteria.

It was the same boy that I had fallen on this morning, sitting with four other just as good looking people. There was a pixie-like girl with short black hair sitting next to a tall, blond boy. Across from them was a drop-dead-model-gorgeous girl with long, blonde hair and a large, almost scary-looking guy. They all had pale skin, and from what I could tell, the same deep golden eyes I had seen on the boy earlier.

"Looks like the new girl noticed the Cullens," I heard someone say, bringing me back to earth. I looked down at my tray again, tugging on my hood, willing it to cover my inescapable blush.

"Don't bother with them, they're all adopted and _together_. And Edward doesn't look at anyone, he's too good for any of us, I'm sure," Jessica began another monologue. "Rosalie and Jasper—those are the two blondes—are actually Hales; twins. Rosalie's dating that big one, Emmett, and Jasper's dating Alice, the little pixie," I contemplated this new knowledge. I was glad I wasn't the only one who compared Alice to a pixie. I glanced at the table again, curious to find that Edward was staring over at us. Rosalie and Jasper didn't look like twins to me, but anything was possible. "They keep mostly to themselves. If you ask me, they're just a bunch of rich sno-" The bell rang, cutting Jessica off, and I rose quickly from the table, eager to escape Jessica's annoying chatter, even if some of it did tell me something.

~*~

I walked to Biology with a quiet girl named Angela, keeping my distance and making sure not to touch her. I really didn't want her to have to be the cause of "emotional breakdown number one."

Entering the classroom, I realized my iPod was still playing music and quickly knocked it out of my ears and shut it off. I glanced up at the classroom from the doorway to see Angela mouthing "assigned seating" at me and looking regretful as she made her way to a lab table in the middle of the room. I flicked my eyes to the obviously empty spot beside—_him. _Edward Cullen. God obviously wanted me to die of embarrassment.

I made my way to my new seat with my head down, staring at the floor. I slid into the chair next to him and continued to look down at familiar black lab tables. I peeked at him through my peripherals.

He was sitting up in his chair, rigid as a board, tense like he was about to run away. What had I done, besides fall onto his feet? Was it murder to sit next to him? I was hurt. I knew I wanted people think I was _different_, but I didn't want them to _hate_ me. I turned back to what the teacher was saying and tried to concentrate on taking notes, which was difficult considering the behaviour of my lab partner.

I barely lasted through the class with him like that, and when the bell rang, he was out of there in a flash. I wasn't far behind, though not intending to follow him. I was headed for the gymnasium for my last class, obviously gym.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't pay much attention to where I was walking, and as I turned a corner, my arm collided with another girl's arm, shocking me out of my mind. Though it was completely normal for old Bella, I remembered what was happening fast enough to send new Bella screaming against a wall, dragging my back down it as I crumpled into a sitting position. I hid my face in my legs as I sobbed, using my pain from leaving Renee 'alone' as my initiative.

Emotional breakdown number one, complete. Though I had been hoping it wouldn't be on the first day.

_EPOV_

"Just 3 more hours, just 3 more hours," Rosalie kept muttering as she looked at her nails. I rolled my eyes, amazed how these few measly hours would cause her that much frustration. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy the constant attention and glances.

"So, did anything exciting happen today, Edward?" Alice asked as she came and sat at our table.

The Cullens and Hales' table.

We sat in the farthest corner of the cafeteria. For all that we were desired, we were also feared. Our plan to mingle with the human world seemed rather failed—what was the point of attending high school when you could make no friends? No relationships? When you were left all alone?

Then again, who would want to be friends with the hormonal potfest that was the teenage psyche? Our lives would have been much simpler had we, too, been normal teenagers.

"No, why? Is something supposed to happen?" I asked, narrowing my eyes on her. She had switched from _Homer_ in Portuguese to _Homer_ in Russian. She was insatiable.

"No reason," she giggled, turning her attention to Jasper. I sighed and leaned back into my chair. The children were shuffling around us, all talking and thinking.

Talking. Thinking. Talking. Thinking.

It was enough to drive me insane. And then I heard our surname.

"Looks like the new girl noticed the Cullens," I heard Jessica Stanley say. I shifted my gaze in her direction and met the brownest eyes I'd ever seen once again.

_Bella Swan_.

"Don't bother with them, they're all adopted and _together_." I scoffed at her horrible insinuations and disgust—what was to stop my siblings from being together when they were not related and in love? My own understanding was limited, but I knew they were content and satisfied with their lives. How dare these humans think like that?

"And Edward doesn't look at anyone, he's too good for any of us, I'm sure." I let out a loud laugh, my siblings breaking their random stares to look at me. Rosalie questioned what was so funny and what the students were thinking. I told her about Jessica's new rant and gossip, and mentioned that I couldn't hear this new girl's thoughts.

While my siblings gave me the weird eye, I shrugged it off and returned my attention to Jessica and… _Bella_.

She was blushing deeply, looking down at her tray. When she lifted her eyes and met my gaze, I would have sworn her blush deepened and that I felt something. I didn't know what, but _something._

The bell rang and interrupted Jessica's next insult, which she was editing to the PG-13 version which differed greatly from the thoughts she had running through her head: both disgusting and rude at the same time. Did she have to think about _that_ while insulting us? Hell, did she have to think about _that_ while discussing _me_?

I gathered my belongings and rushed to one of the few classes I would have enjoyed, had I not studied it at a doctoral level already, Biology.

~*~

I arrived at the classroom before anyone else. Even while keeping 'human' pace, I was able to out-walk most students who dreaded this class. I entered the room and took my seat. This was the one class where I didn't sit next to anyone and I relished in that fact.

Students began to shuffle in, all thoughts on the boring lecture and how to remain inconspicuous about sleeping during it. I turned my head, looking out the window for something to do. Another dreary, dark day—the only ones we were really allowed out during. I sighed and took in a deep breath.

My insides tensed, my head snapped toward the door, and my throat burned. Standing there was _Bella Swan_. I felt the venom pooling in my mouth.

She took her headphones off and glanced around the room, her eyes settling on the only empty seat.

The one next to me.

This demon-child was going to sit next to me. Torture me. Her insufferable smell, her insufferable silent mind, her insufferable… looks?

My mind began to calculate the different options I had. I could kill the students first, snapping their neck, and then suck the blood from her. Or, I could tempt her to follow me into the woods and drain her there.

As the different scenarios went off in my mind, she walked over, head down and eyes set on the floor. When she sat, my entire body tensed again. I gripped the edge of my table, my fingers boring into the wood, and inched away until I was as far as possible. She lifted her gaze from the table to me through her hair. She quickly averted her staring, my glare most probably frightening her.

And she should be frightened. I was soon to taste the delicious blood coursing through her veins. I was going to feel her pulse slow and dull as my teeth met her skin, breaking it and taking what I wanted, what I needed.

While she took her last notes, something that was frivolous at this point for her, I continued to stare and wonder how she would taste. She smelled so sweet, so satiable, so… beautiful. As if calling to me.

'_No!__'_

Would I really destroy what Carlisle had set up here for all of us, just for some girl?

'_But _Bella_ didn__'__t seem like just _some _girl,'_ I reasoned.

Even then, I would not mess up things in Forks. It was the best thing for my family. I would simply leave, go to Denali or possibly South America. My breath still locked in my chest as the bell rang, I shot out the door and made my way to the Volvo as quickly as possible.

My thoughts and actions were interrupted by a loud, shrilling scream.

I whipped around and saw _Bella_ screaming against the wall, falling to the floor, as she sobbed behind her knees.

And, for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to leave.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: OH MA GAW, IT HAPPENED! Her freak-out! I just realized that there is going to be a lot of romance and angst for a while, rather than mainly humor. I can't wait to get to the only-humor. EPOV next time, with some ponderings from yours truly. Review and also check out TRD's story 'Oxygen.' I just started reading it and it is _excellent_.

**TRDancer**: Awh, poor Bells. Wait... she's not really in pain. Edward's in blood-lustful pain though. :D *coughs* There's humor all the time... you just have to find it. Muahaha. And if he's going to be all nice and recommend my story, I'm going to recommend his! Read 'Hunter' you guys! (And, Leon, update it.) Now review!

**Leon McFrenchington**: Review. Rawr! Darkward! But wait, he can't leave!? I wonder what he's going to do… cue romance in T-minus 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Oh, I almost forgot: epic. *snicker*

Just so you all know, this is one of those stories where we do the scene in BPOV, then follow it with EPOV—it wouldn't make sense otherwise. There's two stories going on; what Bella is doing, and what Edward interprets it as. Hope that makes sense.

**TRDancer**: It makes sense, and if you say it's annoying, I'll cry, because seriously you NEED to know why Bella acts strange and you also NEED to know what Edward thinks of it. That's how it works.  
Review!! Humor. I see it everywhere. *cue insane laughter...* (BTW, it doesn't make me mad when Leon refers to his own work as epic. Because his IS epic. *lowers voice to a whisper* It's in _context._)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_BPOV_

I could feel someone standing near my legs, but I ignored them, intent on my emotional breakdown. I had run out of tears already, but I was waiting for the sounds of students in the hallways to go away before I got up. I heard the person clear their throat and I risked a careful glance out from my knees.

It was _him._ I made a note to myself that I really needed to stop glancing at him, not that I had known that it was him this time. What was he doing standing there anyways? I thought he hated me. He had sure run out of Biology fast enough to prove that.

There was no one else in the hallway now, I could hear that, and I was going to be late for gym class. I could either cower here until he said something, or just get up and get to gym as fast as possible. He didn't seem like he was about to say anything; though, why else he was standing there, I didn't know. I sniffled into my jeans and began to get up, not wanting to sit there for an hour. I supported myself with the wall, leaning on it like it was my life. Even so, with my first step forward, I tripped and I braced myself for impact with the floor.

But it didn't come.

Instead, Edward Cullen's arms shot out and caught me, picking me up and setting me on my feet. I turned, wide-eyed and forgetful, about to say thanks, to see him walking away again.

What was his _problem_?

I shook my head, glad that at least I hadn't broken my cover by talking, and hurried up the steps to gym. I wasn't terribly late, but I was horrified to see that the torture they had set up for today was badminton. There was no end to the harm I could do with rackets and nets and those birdies... I shuddered at the thought.

I wasn't required to change today by good grace of the teacher, which was great, owing to the fact I had forgotten to bring gym clothes. Forks High was too poor to supply gym uniforms, yet they required gym all four years. Oh, the irony.

"Want to be my partner, Bella?" Mike Newton stood in front of me, bouncing a birdie on his racket. I nodded slightly, sure he had no other options. He led me to the other side of the gym, where we separated ourselves a good distance, me in an isolated corner. He served me the birdie and I swung for it, my racket surprisingly making contact and knocking it clear across the room. I winced and stared at the floor.

"Don't worry, I'll go get it," Mike said eagerly, already jogging towards the birdie. I absentmindedly rubbed my face and brought my fingers away purple. _Purple._ Oh no. The make-up I'd put on that morning to darken the bags under my eyes was now running from all the crying. I ran to the bathroom, extra careful to avoid the girls playing badminton. I didn't wait for Mike; mostly because, with my mute mouth, I wouldn't be able to explain where I was going anyways.

Once I was safely in the changing room, I studied my face in the mirrors. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined it, but I rubbed off the make-up anyways. It wasn't very long until the end of class and my first school day in Forks. I prepared to go back out, but the bell interrupted me.

I was trapped. There was no way I was going to be able to walk past the girls that were no doubt swarming towards the door this very second. Another episode was out of the question, I wouldn't put myself in that position if this were real, now would I? I turned back to the room, searching for a hiding place. There was a bank of lockers against one wall, and I opened one on the far side of the entrance. '_Jackpot.__'_ No one was using it; at least, no one's stuff was in here. I squeezed myself inside in the nick of time, glad I was thin and not terribly tall.

The door swung open with a gust of wind, and the locker room filled with echoes of girls' laughter and voices. I tried to make myself smaller and pressed myself into the metal. I ignored the nameless girls' talking until I heard my name.

"What do you think of Bella Swan? Isn't she weird?"

"Uh, yeah. Did you see what happened when she bumped me? She totally freaked and started crying!"

"I haven't heard her say one word..."

"Some sort of Emo Freak-out Attack..."

"Where did she disappear to during gym anyways?"

The talking went on. Some of it was pretty offensive, but it didn't actually offend me, considering this wasn't how I normally acted. It was exactly how I wanted them to react, really. They had even named my emotional breakdown an 'Emo Freak-out Attack.'

After a good fifteen minutes—how long did it _take_ for them to change their clothes?—I escaped the locker, rubbing my sore muscles. I was taking a long, hot shower tonight. I deserved it.

_EPOV_

I didn't know what brought me back to her.

Here was _Bella_, sitting on the floor in front of me, screaming and crying her heart out. What had set her off? It couldn't have been my earlier behavior… I suddenly felt horrible.

Even if it weren't because of my behavior, someone like _Bella_ shouldn't be in this condition. The thirst I felt earlier was subsiding as I waited for her to acknowledge my presence. It was maddening not to be able to hear her thoughts. Maddening was putting it lightly, too, as I couldn't decipher what to say to calm her.

After a few moments, the halls now cleared except for her and me, she started to breathe in a more relaxed pace, signaling her calm. I cleared my throat, trying to bring her back to the present.

She parted her knees, her brown eyes meeting mine. She stared for a few moments, shock and blush covering her face. Slowly—more slowly than I would have hoped for—she stood up and clutched against the wall. As she lifted her body and took a step, she lost her balance and began to fall forward.

Everything seemed to move at snail's pace. Her body went pummeling to the floor, the angle she created not optimal to brace herself with. If she landed like that, she would snap her wrist at best, or her neck at worst.

My hands shot out of their own accord. It didn't register until I felt her warm body embraced by my arms. This was odd, insane, wrong… and different. She fit so perfectly into my arms as I held her against my body, almost cradling her. I gently placed her on her feet, making sure she was balanced, before I spun around and stalked off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her turn around and open her mouth. Was she about to speak?

She took off in the other direction, towards the gym. I shrugged it off and sped to my car. I had to do something, anything, to distract myself at the moment. A visit to Carlisle was called for…

~*~

I arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident with Bella. I rushed inside and found one of the nurses.

"Hello, I'm looking for my father, Dr. Cullen," I said quickly, ignoring the looks I was getting. More thoughts on the females and me in… certain positions. I held back a shudder.

"U-uh, y-yes. He's in his o-offi-ce, I t-think," the nurse in front of me stuttered. Her thoughts were actually kind, pure. She was just shocked by my sudden appearance and rushed attitude. I gave her a quick smile and nod before running toward Carlisle's office. I arrived at the door and gave a quick knock, out of courtesy.

"Come on in, Edward," he called from behind the oak door. I opened it and ushered myself in, dropping down in the seat opposite of Carlisle as he looked up from his paperwork.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. I just shook my head slightly, my head resting on my palm as I leaned back into the chair to try and think. I had never experienced such a frustration like this.

"Edward? Are you alright?"

I let out a deep breath I had been holding. "No, I'm not."

"What is it? Did something happen?" Carlisle dropped his paperwork and came around his desk, sitting in the seat next to mine and scooting closer. I just stared at him and sighed.

"There's… this girl," I muttered, leaning forward and placing my elbows on my knees as I intertwined my fingers. Carlisle raised an eyebrow and had the thought clear in his mind.

_'__A girl?__'_

"What about this girl?" It was his turn to lean back as he watched me intently.

"I don't know. There are too many things to say!" I groaned, rubbing my eyes out of human habit. I sat still and tried to think of what to say.

"Start at the beginning, replay the day," Carlisle suggested. I took his advice and went through the entire day, factual information only. I didn't hint at the strange feelings I got when she was around, or how I was drawn back to her when she was screaming. Those details I emitted mostly as he watched me explain the situation.

"Is that really all, Edward?" he insisted, his eyes holding some suspicion and his mind hidden as he kept his thoughts subtle.

"I think so, yes. As soon as she walked in, I wanted to suck her dry," I responded, pursing my lips as he continued to keep his thoughts clear. "Why do you ask?"

"Then why didn't you? And why did you go back to her?" he clarified. I shifted nervously, sighing as I couldn't continue lying.

"I don't know… but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't _want_ to hurt her—much less than any other human, actually," I answered, taking a deep breath before I continued. "Something about her drew me in, drew me back. When she looked at me, when she cried, when she fell, when she was in my arms… I don't know. It was nothing I've ever felt before…"

"Edward, do you mind if I make a suggestion?"

"Of course not. You know your opinion matters most to me," I respond, shocked he even had to ask.

"Next time you see this girl, don't run off or ignore her. Try making casual conversation. Use Alice's example—try imagining her as a living being instead of a meal. As for your… feelings…" he trailed off, his mind asking whether he should continue. I nodded, once again shocked he had to ask. "Just trust your mind. Edward, you're a good guy, regardless of how you see yourself. Maybe you're meant to feel the way you do."

His thoughts were rather cryptic, and I wasn't sure I understand what he meant 100%, but I nodded and stood. He followed me to the door, giving me a brief hug before returning to his work. I left and walked to the parking lot, locating my car and getting inside

I found myself back at Forks High, the last class of the day finishing off. I knew _Bella_ had gym, so I parked closer to the gymnasium.

My body began to boil, a loud pumping sound in my ears as I heard what the students were saying about _Bella_.

"What do you think of Bella Swan? Isn't she weird?"

"Uh, yeah. Did you see what happened when she bumped me? She totally freaked out and started crying!"

That was interesting. I was relieved that she wasn't crying over my reaction to her, but why did she respond to a touch like that? Surely she couldn't have bumped into anyone hard enough to cause that much pain or anguish. By the looks of it, she didn't seem so hurt. And she didn't mind that I had held her.

I felt a smile escape as I thought that. _Bella_ didn't mind my holding her. Why did that make me happy?

"I haven't heard her say one word…"

Neither had I, but I was sure she could speak. I was also sure she had a very nice voice.

"Some sort of Emo Freak-out Attack..."

Emo Freak-out Attack? What in the world did that even mean? Just when I thought these kids couldn't get more stupid… Poor _Bella_, these reactions must only make her feel worse…

"Where did she disappear to during gym anyways?"

I froze as I listened more closely. _Bella_ had disappeared? I searched the minds of all the students quickly, glancing through their eyes to see if she was in sight. She was nowhere. That feeling was back. It was like the screaming incident all over again. I felt horrible. No, this time, I felt worse. At least then, I was there, able to help with what little I could. Now I was stuck wondering where she was.

I exited the car as the last girl left the locker room, my eyes and mind both frantically searching for any signs of _Bella_. After the last car cleared the parking lot, I noticed the truck was still here.

'_She drives _that_? It can__'__t be safe…__'_ I thought to myself, though I did feel slightly better knowing she had to be somewhere nearby.

Another fifteen minutes passed before the door to the locker room opened again. That was when I saw her, glancing around the halls and parking lot. She noticed me and her cheeks darkened once more. I gave her a weak smile as she dropped her gaze and ran toward her car.

She wonderfully made it there without tripping. For some reason, I felt she was more than familiar with the floor. There was that horrible feeling again…

She entered the cab of the truck and quickly started it, backing up and driving off toward the homes. I sighed and shook my head. I rushed back to my car, unsure of what to do next. I should have gone home. I should have gone and played the piano. I should have done anything other than what I did.

I arrived at Chief Swan's place before _Bella_ did. She was a careful driver and took the safer, albeit longer, path home. I parked down the block and made my way toward the house after she arrived as well. She exited the cab and rushed to the door.

I sighed, comforted in knowing that she was safe and sound at home. I turned back and returned to my car, entering it and driving it back home.

_Bella Swan…_ Tomorrow. Tomorrow I would talk to _Bella_.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: Aw, he helped her. Now, why? You'll find out next chapter. Emo Freak-out Attack… these children are _so_ witty, no? Epic and TRD is awesome. Review. That is all.

**TRDancer**: Badminton. Ah, the cursed sport. I think the children are witty, they feed my brain with their random shizz. :) Ruh-vee-eww, please and thank you.

**Leon McFrenchington**: Spring Break for me. It's awesome. Regular updates though, so no worries. Also, I'm pretty sure someone won't like this chapter… but we do, and that's all that matters :)

**TRDancer**: Spring Break is awesome, even if it is snowy outside. Oh well, gives me more time to party with the computer, which means FF. I like this chapter. OH WAIT. I didn't read it.

Just kidding. Of course I read it. I edited it too. Review, my lovelys! Because the button loves to be clicked! (Haven't said that in a while... thought I should.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_BPOV_

I opened the cupboard door and sighed, exasperated. It was a good thing Charlie was allowing me to do the cooking and grocery shopping from now on, because his taste in cereal foods was _horrible_.

'_I mean, seriously, who eats Raisin Bran?__' _Some people, I supposed, but not me. Raisins were not appetizing.

Maybe Edward Cullen ate Raisin Bran. He seemed like the type who would eat such disgusting foods in the morning. After all, he was some sort of stalker. He kept showing up wherever I was after Biology: standing next to me after my freak-out, and then he had been in the parking lot after school when everyone else had left, like he was _waiting _for me or something.

I slammed the cupboard door in disgust and swept my hood up onto my head. There was nothing to do here and a change of scenery would be nice, considering I had completely given up on the make-up in case of breakdowns, causing me to wander around the house all night, searching for something interesting to distract me from sleep. I was going to be super early though...

"Good morning, Bella," I jumped, startled. Charlie stood in the door of the kitchen, scratching his head and peering at me just like the first day. I breathed out and sat on the stool next to the kitchen table.

"Hi, Dad. You scared me."

"I thought we could eat breakfast together. One time thing because I couldn't do it yesterday..." he trailed off, heading over to the fridge and pulling out some eggs, one of the only things he could cook. I watched him cook curiously. This wasn't typical Charlie behaviour.

"How was your first day of school?" he asked me, setting the fully cooked eggs in front of me. I picked up my fork and started to eat.

"Interesting. I met lots of nice people," I hoped that was good enough for him.

"Who did you meet?" he inquired, shoveling his own eggs into his mouth. I winced inconspicuously. '_What had their names been?__'_

"Um... Jessica something and Angela something… Mike Newtron... it's hard to remember names, sorry," I was sure I had murdered the Mike guy's last name, even if it was close. I had really only remembered Edward Cullen, and I wasn't about to mention _him_, though I just barely kept myself from blurting his name out. Charlie laughed.

"That's okay, honey." I glanced at the clock like I was checking the time, even though I knew it was still a bit early, and got up.

"I gotta go, Dad. Thanks for breakfast." He waved and stared after me with a confused look on his face. I didn't blame him. I had definitely changed in his eyes.

~*~

My morning classes dragged by, boring as ever. No one came up to me at all today, a development that I thought rather low of the students at this school. Oh well. '_More time to wallow in despair.__' _

When the bell rang at the end of fourth period, I wasn't in a hurry to get to lunch, so I just slowly packed up my books and wandered to the cafeteria, avoiding the crowded routes.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, most people were already sitting down at the tables. I grabbed myself an apple and looked for a place to sit. Judging by the actions of Jessica and company, I wasn't welcome at their table, so I headed for an empty table at the back of the room. I could just chill out with my iPod for the lunch hour.

I settled into my seat, crunching into the apple and bobbing my head to _Blue October_. I had been sitting down for about five minutes when I heard the chair next to me move and someone sit down.

_Aha! _Someone here _was _brave enough to talk to me after my breakdown. I peeked out from under my hood to see who the brave soul was and inhaled sharply. It was _him_. Of course. My new personal stalker, Edward Cullen. Hadn't I said I was going to stop glancing at him? '_There went that promise to myself.__'_ Was the stalker planning on speaking today? I looked up a bit more directly to see him opening his mouth. It seemed he was.

"Hello, _Bella_," the stalker breathed my name like it was gold. Creepy. "You looked lonely, so I thought I'd come introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen," he stuck out his hand. I looked down at my lap. Was I blushing? I must be. How did he know my name? I looked up to that his hand was still there, so I quickly grabbed it, shook it, and let go without letting him get a grip on my hand. I stared at my lap again.

"Why aren't you talking?" he asked, though it seemed kind of like he was asking himself. I almost snorted at that question. I could ask him a million questions if I weren't playing this elaborate game. Questions like, _"why are you here? Why are you talking to me? Why did you run away in Biology? Why did you come back? Why did you catch me but then leave? Do you eat Raisin Bran?"_

I spun the click wheel on my iPod around and around as I thought of all these questions, making that annoying ticking noise. For some reason, my mind stuck on the Raisin Bran. I kept repeating_'__Do you eat Raisin Bran?__'_ in my head obsessively, willing him to hear it, as if it were the only important question.

"No, I don't eat Raisin Bran. Those are some interesting first words," Edward had his eyebrows raised and was staring at me like I had grown another head. I forgot my resolve to look down and stared at him, befuddled. What the hell was he talking about? I hadn't said anything, and how had he known I was thinking about Raisin Bran? Though it was rather sad to learn I had been wrong about the Raisin Bran.

"Anything more to say? Do _you_ eat Raisin Bran?" he continued to act like I had asked him if he ate Raisin Bran. Which I hadn't. Not out loud, anyways. This was completely and totally impossible. I shook my head to clear out my thoughts and went back to staring at my lap.

"Shaking the head. Not as good as talking, but I'll take it, _Bella_," he said my name all pretty again, and it continued to creep me out.

Thankfully, the bell for Biology rang, and I got up, intending to run away as fast as possible. Then I remembered he was my lab partner and turned to look at him.

I was doomed to another hour of complete _weirdness._

_EPOV_

I sighed, sitting in my car as I waited down the block from _Bella_'s house. She had looked so upset and distraught yesterday and my resolve to talk to her almost wavered.

Thank the lord it didn't. A week in Denali… I shuddered from the thought itself. Not only would being away from my family and being close to Tanya be unbearable… I didn't feel comfortable being too far from Bella.

She was so fragile and soft; so weak. What would happen to her today? Would she be alright, able to get through without hurting herself?

I heard her shuffling around, getting ready for the day. I listened astutely for any signs of harm, nervous. She descended the stairs, so I assumed her room was on the second floor. She walked around the first floor, ending up in the kitchen by the sounds of the cupboards slamming. I chuckled at her rashness.

The chief came down and spoke to her. She responded. '_She can speak!__'_ Realization hit me. Of course she could speak… but why wouldn't she? She simply stared, scowled, and… blushed. The most striking thing was that she blushed quite often when I was around—when I saw her in the minds of others, she didn't seem to burn as red as she did when I was near.

Did she really feel that uncomfortable around me? That scared? That nervous?

And, of course, why did all these things matter to me? Why was I here in the first place? I let out a groan in frustration, pinching the bridge of my nose just as I did when I was human.

I dropped my hand and began to concentrate more, watching _Bella_ through Charlie's eyes. His thoughts were running on how different she looked, how different she acted. He recalled memories of her as a child, or when he had seen her last year. He was right—there was a drastic change between the way she was dressed at home and what he remembered from the year before. Even then, she was more covered up at school—what had happened to cause such a shift?

When she butchered Newton's name, I felt myself smile. Then a loud thought escaped. _'__Edward Cullen.__'_ I glanced around, suspicious that someone had seen me. I didn't catch anyone, so I let it go. It must have been a passing thought.

I heard _Bella_ tell Charlie that she was off to school, so I turned on the car. I sped off quickly, arriving at the school much sooner than _Bella_ did.

As soon as I left my car, my siblings came up to me. Rosalie had a scowl on her face while Alice's countered it with a wide grin.

"Where were you?" Rosalie shot. I shrugged and brushed past them, ignoring the French songs Alice was singing in her head.

Today I would speak to her. Today would be the day where I finally talked to _Bella Swan._

~*~

She walked into the cafeteria clumsily. I snarled as everyone's eyes looked at her, most of the boys ogling and most of the girls offending. My siblings and I were sitting at the farthest table as we always did. No one was paying attention to me, so I followed _Bella_'s movements through the cafeteria.

She walked to the lunch line and picked out an apple. Once she had paid, she glanced around for somewhere to sit. I noticed the dark looks and thoughts from Jessica Stanley's and glared in their direction. _'__How dare they act so rudely after yesterday?__'_

I saw _Bella_ ignore them, walking past their table to the one on the opposite side of the room. She sat down and pulled her hood further over her head, plugging in the headphones and taking a bite out of her apple.

After watching her for a few minutes, gathering my senses enough to go over, I stood up and ignored the glances of my siblings. I stalked over to where she sat and pulled the chair next to her out. Sitting down, I turned to face her.

She followed my turn soon after, peeking out from under her hood. She inhaled sharply and my eyebrows shot up. Was she so surprised to see me? Her cheeks blushed darkly and I felt the back of my throat burn, but something was overpowering it this time, just as had happened yesterday in the hallway. She continued to stare at me, her eyes taking on a gloss.

"Hello, _Bella_," I began—and for the first time said her name out loud. It rolled off my tongue rather nicely and truly lived up to it's name: _beautiful_. "You looked lonely, so I thought I'd come introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen."

I slowly put my hand out and waited for her to return the gesture. Instead, she snapped back to attention, the gloss leaving her eyes and her cheeks reddening, and dropped her gaze down to her lap. After a minute, she lifted her head and saw my hand. Quickly, she shot her hand out and shook it without my force or touch, simply brushing against my hand. She dropped her gaze once more.

"Why aren't you talking?" I asked, still confused on the matter. She talked at home, what was preventing her from it here? I heard a snort begin in her nose before she held it back. Her eyes seemed to race, indicating that she was deep in thought. Was she finally going to speak?

_Bella_ glanced down at her iPod, spinning the wheel.

"_Do you eat Raisin Bran?_" she asked, though it sounded almost airy. I raised my eyebrow at her odd question—didn't most people introduce themselves and greet others first?

"No, I don't eat Raisin Bran. Those are some interesting first words," I responded, staring at her oddly. Her head snapped up and she returned the odd stare, looking quite confused.

"Anything more to say? Do _you_ eat Raisin Bran?" I pressed, hoping she'd talk some more. She simply continued to stare at me before shaking her head slowly and returning her gaze to her lap.

"Shaking the head. Not as good as talking, but I'll take it, _Bella_," and once again, her name came out of my mouth sounding just as airy as her question. The bell for next period rang and _Bella_ got up rather quickly, grabbing her stuff and trying to walk off.

She stopped and turned heel to stare at me. I smiled and stood, holding my hand out to accompany her to class.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: Nothing to really say this time… it was longer than the other BPOV *cough cough*. But yeah… I thought it was funny. Stalkward and Raisin Bran made me laugh when TRD wrote this. Review for some niceness.

**TRDancer: **It's like WHA? Eddie can read her mind? All I can say is, "You'll see" :D**  
**Uh... I didn't mean to offend anyone who likes Raisin Bran, btw. I just hate it, and I have no idea where these things come from anyways. *sigh* Click the green button and write somethin' funneh!

**Leon McFrenchington**: OH SNAP! I don't know why I said that. Review, they make us all gushy on the inside. Someone's getting a bit possessive…

**TRDancer**: Mmmm.... reviews... they're better than the chocolate chip cookie I am eating at this very moment... :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_BPOV_

He was insufferable, my stalker. But he was also gorgeous, I now noted as I stared into his eyes, not even being cautious about it, considering the fact we were in the back of the cafeteria and everyone else was headed in the other direction.

I dropped my gaze to the hand he was now offering and hesitated. '_Should I take it or not?' _Before I could consider it further, my hand seemed to fly up of its own accord and grasp his. He grinned triumphantly and I felt my already pink cheeks darken. I stared at the floor and let him lead me. Then I realized that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. What if I bumped against a girl?

I glanced up and moved closer to Edward, hiding myself slightly behind him. That would have to do, along with glances upward to see if he was leading me anywhere near danger.

We arrived at the classroom with no incidents, and I breathed a sigh of relief, dropping his hand before we entered the room. We took our seats just before the late bell rang; Mr. Banner launched into a lecture on gene theory. '_Boring.'_ Too bad Mr. Banner didn't seem to think so.

In the seat next to me, stalker boy stifled a laugh. What was funny _now_? I decided notes didn't break my rules and ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook.

**-****What****'****s funny over there?-**

I shoved the paper over to him. He scanned it and scribbled something back. I held out my hand and he pressed the paper into it, sending an electric shock through me. I blushed again as I read the paper. Dang, even his writing was gorgeous.

**-****You saying how boring this lesson is****.****-**

What was he talking about? Gorgeous stalker boy was also apparently insane and could hear my thoughts. Or just happened to imagine me saying something at the same time I had thought it. There was only one way to figure out which theory was the correct one.

**-****I don****'****t think I said that. Now, listen very, very closely.-**

I passed him the note and immediately started willing my stalker to hear what I was thinking. '_Edward Cullen. Hello, Edward Cullen.' _The note appeared under my nose.

**-****Hi there, Bella. You****'****re talking rather loudly.****-**

I shook my head. He was rather dense. I wasn't talking, I was thinking. I projected that the same way I had done my other thoughts. He should get it through his head sooner rather than later. It seemed like it shouldn't be that hard considering he was the mind-reader here. I was just the weird thought-projector.

The note disappeared for a few seconds, then came back with new words on it.

**-****Meet me after school in the parking lot.****-**

I looked at him and nodded.

_EPOV_

She stared at me with such intensity, her brown, doe eyes never leaving my face. Her eyes were glazed over as she continued to stare, my wonder growing as she dropped her gaze to my hand. To a human, she would have only seemed to hesitate for a second, but to my vampire senses and my other… feelings… it seemed to take much longer.

Her hand shot out and took my own. She didn't let go or even flinch away from the cold. She kept her head down, but I saw her cheeks darken once more. The smell was so alluring, but my thirst wasn't overpowering. I could feel the grin on my face pronounce as I began to walk toward our classroom.

Together.

With _Bella_.

The stares and thoughts as we walked through the halls were unanimous:

_'Edward Cullen is talking to Bella? Edward Cullen is holding Bella's hand? Edward Cullen is actually socializing, and he chooses _her_?'_

_'Bella Swan is hanging around Edward? Bella Swan is being led by Edward? Bella Swan is actually socializing, and she chooses_ him_?'_

If I weren't so happy, I would have snarled. For some reason, my mood was elated and fine and nothing could go wrong. I couldn't figure out why.

As we continued along at our slow pace, _Bella_ stopped for a split second, looking up at me. Then she moved closer to my side, shifting slightly so that she was behind me. Having her so close was like igniting a fire from a spark. I felt the warmth and the pulse through her clothing, through my clothing. It felt wonderful.

_Bella _and I made our way inside the classroom, she checking around every once in a while whereas I simply stared ahead. She dropped my hand at the door and I felt the lack of warmth. I didn't let it affect me as we walked in and sat down. Mr. Banner began his lecture immediately, leaving us to follow along with notes. _Bella_ simply stared ahead and huffed.

"_Boring_."

Though it wasn't very original or witty, she was rather loud and blunt about it. I felt my chest rumble with laughter at her haste. I heard _Bella_ grab her notebook and silently tear a sheet of paper out. I raised an eyebrow as she quickly scratched something onto the paper before passing it to me.

**-What's funny over there?**-

Both my eyebrows were raised now. Why would she ask that after what she just said? How would she not know? I quickly wrote my answer.

-**You saying how boring this lesson is.**-

Checking to make sure there was nothing else to respond to or that I wanted to say, I handed the paper over to her waiting hand. After dropping the paper onto her fingers, our hands brushed and another shock went through me. By her blush, I could tell she had felt the same thing.

She gaped a bit at my note, and I wondered what exactly was so interesting. She snapped out of her daze and wrote something down. She passed it over without looking at me. As soon as I read it, I heard her speaking.

-**I don't think I said that. Now, listen very, very closely.**-

"_Edward Cullen. Hello, Edward Cullen,_" her voice was incredibly loud, but it was so breathless. I cocked my head and wrote back, shoving the note in front of her.

**-Hi there, Bella. You're talking rather loudly.**-

She read it and lifted her head to meet mine, looking at me like I had just made a horrible joke or said something lewd. She shook her head slightly and had a look of deep concentration on her face.

"_… he was the mind-reader here_. _I was just the weird thought-projector…_"

My eyes widened as I grabbed the note and replied.

**-Meet me after school in the parking lot.-**

She looked from the note to me and nodded her head roughly. This was going to be an interesting conversation.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **Leon was too lazy to write an A/N. He's working on a new story instead at the moment.

**TRDancer: **OH EM GEE, you say. There's both POV's!! I know, right? Now you don't have to be all sad because there would have only been 477 words in the chapter. Review, and dance around for no reason. :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_BPOV_

I leaned my head against the window of my truck and sighed. It had been a long gym class, complete with various birdies flying at my head and ending with me misjudging my racket's path and smashing Lauren Mallory in the head with it. Not that I was sorry.

I was surprised that Edward hadn't beaten me here; but I was the one waiting instead, it seemed. Sad, considering the fact that this meeting was _his_ idea. I turned, contemplating whether or not to yell his name really loud in my head to see if that would hurry him up, when I spotted him heading toward me, a big grin plastered across his face. What was he smiling about _now_?

"Hello, _Bella,_" he said, his voice making my name sound like pure gold yet again. "We have things to discuss."

I nodded and gestured toward my truck, clearly telling him to get in. We were not going to discuss this here, where people would hear what they thought to be a one-sided conversation. He looked apprehensive, but walked to the other side and slid in. I nodded again in approval and got in my own seat, starting the truck.

"This thing sounds like a death trap. I'm not so sure I should let you drive it around," he said in what I thought was a joking tone, though his voice did have a serious edge to it. I shook my head and kept my eyes on the road to my house. We sat in silence for a minute or two, and I could see that he was getting tense.

"Why won't you _talk_? I know..." he trailed off, and I frowned. Had he been about to say that he knew I could talk? He couldn't know that. But what if he did? Where would he have obtained that knowledge? I was positive I hadn't uttered a word anywhere near the school. The only person in Forks I had talked to was Charlie.

I pulled into my driveway and hopped out of the truck, careful not to fall again. I opened the door with the key hidden under the eaves and then turned to see if Edward was coming. He was standing a few feet away from me, his head tilted, staring at me. I felt my face flush and I turned back to the house, gesturing to him to come in.

"Nice house," he said. I nodded. "If you're not going to actually speak, why don't you use thought-projection?" I turned a darker shade of red. It seemed to be that now Edward knew what I figured out about the thought-projecting, and he was totally cool with being able to read my mind; like it happened every day.

Not so much on my end. The thought-projecting thing freaked me out. I had only done it in class in an attempt to find out which theory was correct. I wasn't too intent on having Edward know my private thoughts, and I figured if I used the projecting too much, I might start projecting those private thoughts. It was only logical.

And if he saw _those_ private thoughts… the embarrassment alone would be enough to kill me. _'Hey Edward, would you mind if I wrapped my arms around your neck and kissed you like I've never kissed anyone before?'_

However, that left me with only one alternative. I was actually going to have to _speak_ to Edward Cullen, my personal stalker. I could claim some sort of connection when he asked me why him. '_There was a connection between us anyways_,' I thought as I remembered the spark in Biology when he had passed me that note. I braced myself and opened my mouth.

"I'd prefer not to, thanks," I answered him, my voice dry from lack of use. It was a late answer, but it wasn't the one he was expecting, I could tell. His eyes widened, and his whole face lit up with a smile.

Hell, I was going to talk more often if _that_ was the response it got every time.

_EPOV_

I watched her in gym. She had the coordination of a drunken lemur. Her body swayed side-to-side as she clumsily dodged the birdies, as she winced with every motion, as she swung her racket and hit Lauren Mallory straight on the head.

It was the most amusing thing I had ever witnessed; and I had seen Emmett in a tutu.

It was also entrancing. I could watch her all day long: her less-than-graceful movements cute, her horrified expressions priceless, and her enticing blush… beautiful.

Soon after the bell had rung, I stopped watching her as she rushed off to change in solitude. She pulled out of the locker rooms and walked toward the parking lot. I had stayed behind, waiting for my siblings.

"Oh, Edward!" I rolled my eyes as the birdlike voice rang loudly in my ears.

"Alice. Don't bother, I'm sure you know _exactly_ what is going to happen today. Just take my keys and go," I muttered, throwing the keys at her as she smiled brightly, her mind replaying episodes of What Not to Wear. I turned away just as she grabbed my shoulder.

"So, when do I get to meet her?" she asked sweetly. I turned and glared.

"Why would you meet her?" I questioned, my eyes narrowing. She just shook her head.

"I asked first!" she whined, crossing her arms and giving me a hard look. I snorted and turned again, leaving her behind, her thoughts clouded with snarky insults. I sighed as I exited the school, coming to the parking lot.

_Bella_ was leaning with her back to me, her forehead glued to the window of her truck. I chuckled, beginning the walk toward her. She turned around, looking like she was ready to burst with frustration. The expression she had had before she saw me was heart-wrenching. But as soon as her eyes met mine, she seemed to perk up. I let a big grin plaster my face, though it wasn't forced. I was happy to see her.

However, I wondered whether _she_ was happy or simply annoyed.

"Hello, _Bella_," I said, her name slipping out of my mouth easily. "We have things to discuss."

She nodded and gestured to her truck. I froze, wondering if I could handle such concentration of her scent. Deciding it would be alright since I had dealt with said scent up until now, I walked over and let myself in. She followed my action after nodding to herself. After settling, she put the key in the ignition and let the truck roar to life.

"This thing sounds like a death trap. I'm not so sure I should let you drive it," I joked, though I was fairly certain she shouldn't be in anything this dangerous. Perhaps a nice Mercedes Guardian… She shook her head slightly, rolling her eyes and returning to her stare down with the road. I noticed we were headed to her house. I took a deep breath and the scent hit me hard. I felt my body tense, my breathing silently speeding as I tried to accustom myself to the smell.

_'I just need to get used to it, I just need to get used to it, I just need to get used to it..'_ I repeated the mantra a few hundred times, allowing myself to be convinced. It worked, the smell no longer as hard or strong. I breathed through my nose, taking in the aroma of strawberries and flowers… freesias?

Once I was used to the fragrance, I realized we had just been sitting in silence. We were nearing her home and I didn't want this to become awkward.

"Why won't you _talk_? I know…" I paused, noticing her frown. I stopped talking, thinking that maybe _that_ was what made this awkward. I'd wait. I had all the time in the world. She could begin… I only hoped I had the patience for it.

We pulled up to her home, and she parked in the driveway. After a few moments of sitting in the stalled car, she turned it off and hopped out. I copied her, paying more attention to her steps in case she fell as she seemed prone to. She walked up to the house, taking a key out from under the eaves. I chuckled, knowing it was rather silly to hide it there.

_'Make sure to tell her to place it somewhere safer…'_

When she opened the door, _Bella_ gestured for me to enter, her face flushed and round. I smiled and entered, taking in the surroundings firsthand.

"Nice house," I commented with her nodding in response. I knew I wouldn't have the patience for this. "If you're not going to actually speak, why don't you use your thought-projection?"

I turned to watch her, her face darkening as she stared at me, open-mouthed and eyes wide. She seemed to be having an internal debate, shock and confusion clear expressions. Silence ensued and I was growing frustrated.

"_There was a connection between us anyways_," I heard it through her mind, the light tone similar to her previous thoughts. I had to stop from bursting into a smile. By her continued thoughtful expression, I didn't think I was supposed to hear that.

But did she really think so as well? I didn't know why that made me so happy, but for some reason, I felt a bit more… whole. I stopped pondering as she sighed.

"I'd prefer not to, thanks," she said quietly, her voice strained.

I stared in shock as she was actually speaking to _me. _Edward Cullen was speaking to _Bella Swan._ _Bella Swan_ responded to Edward Cullen. There were words being exchanged between Edward Cullen and _Bella Swan_. _Bella. Bella. Bella. _Edward. Edward. Edward. Words. Talking. Speaking. Smiling. Blushing.

For some reason, this day made its way high to the top of my list of best days. My eyes widened, and this time I couldn't help the smile that grew more and more pronounced on my face as I took a few steps toward Bella, closing the distance between us.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: Bwuhahaha, he is such a loser, isn't he? But a cute one, I'll give him that. I also just noticed that we need to begin writing again... *sob* One of the reasons I was so happy with this story was because we were so far ahead in the writing. Not anymore... *sigh* Oh well. Review and let us know what you think!

**TRDancer: **More writing?? WHAT? No, I'm busy. Leon, you do it. Oh wait, you're busy too... *silent contemplation* Just kidding guys, I love writing this story. I'll get more motivated to write if you review... :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_BPOV_

He was walking towards me. I stared at him in disbelief. Did he not have any thoughts like those of the others at school? Didn't he think I was an emo freak? I contemplated these things later than I should have but at least they were coming to me now. Hopefully he heard that. I searched his face for any indication that he had, but I didn't see any, though he had stopped walking towards me.

"Um..." I tried to think of something to say that would make him keep coming closer, nervous all of a sudden. I couldn't keep up with my stalker. He showed up everywhere, avoiding me, but not avoiding me at the same time; and now he was coming closer? I frowned as he took a step back; that was definitely not the desired effect.

_'No, Edward, get your butt over here and hold me.'_ I kept my thoughts quiet, hoping he wouldn't hear them.

"I'm sorry," he said. Why was stalker boy sorry? There was no point in that at all.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked him, stepping closer to him, attempting to show that I didn't want him to move away. He seemed to understand, taking his own step forward. _'Yay, Edward! That's right, keep going...'_

"I didn't want to frighten you," he replied. I took a step, resisting an urge to laugh. _'Too late, Edward!'_ He stepped forward, matching my own step. Each one brought me closer to that terrifyingly captivating mind-reader. I didn't know if he knew what I was thinking right now, but I was trying to keep the thoughts low-key, and I hoped it was working.

"You... frighten me," I admitted, wanting to tell some truth, even if I didn't want him to know every single thought running through my brain. I stepped forward again, but this time he stepped back. _'No, Edward, we were doing so well!'_

"I... frighten you?" his voice sounded hurt, and I wanted to run over to him, throw my arms around him in comfort, and reassure him that everything would be fine. But that would ruin everything, my entire game, and I settled for the next best thing.

"No! I-I, I didn't mean it like that!" I stuttered out, holding my hands up in apology. He stared at me, obviously not understanding. I suppressed the urge to sigh and continued explaining. "I mean, it's just… well, you read my mind. But only the stuff I really concentrated on, it seemed…" I gave up, hoping that was good enough. I stared at the floor, my cheeks burning red again.

I heard Edward take two steps forward and I looked up. I couldn't help but smile. _'So close...' _He took another step. The distance between us was so small compared to what it had been. It was obvious Edward was letting me choose whether that distance would be closed or not. I watched as he closed his eyes, no doubt expecting the worst. Well, he wasn't going to receive it. I wanted to be close to him too much.

I took the last step, closing that final distance. Edward opened one of his eyes, then both of them, the surprise obvious. I had been so right; he had been expecting me to run away or something.

"Um... Edward? Are you alright?" It felt good to actually say his name after just thinking it so many times before. I stared adamantly at the floor, not wanting to make him feel awkward. I felt his hand on my chin and I let him move my head until I was staring him in the eyes. He smiled at me and I lost control of my thoughts, my heart pounding. '_Augh, he had, he had, he had,_ dazzled _me or something.' _

"Is something wrong, _Bella_?" his smooth voice snapped me out of my daze.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine… you shouldn't do that, you know," I let my head fall. I wouldn't let him do that to me again.

"Do what?" he asked. As if he really didn't know his power over me; and most likely, other women.

"Nothing… don't worry about it. Um… what did you want to talk about?" I asked, my throat suddenly felt unbearable. I turned to the kitchen, walking away from Edward.

"How about you allowing me to hear your thoughts?" he inquired. I opened the fridge and took out some orange juice. Of course he wanted to talk about hearing my thoughts, hadn't that been the point of this whole meeting? I sighed as I headed to the cupboard on the other side of the kitchen to get cups. I pulled out two mugs and poured the orange juice in them. I returned the juice to the fridge and motioned for Edward to sit down.

I sat down across from him and took a big gulp of my juice. Ah, that felt nice. I was wondering how long I could stall for when Edward started to talk.

"You don't have to tell me, _Bella_. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to," I stopped drinking abruptly and raised an eyebrow at him. I put the cup down, clearing my throat. I was going to start singing in the shower to get my daily talking in. Or maybe I wouldn't have to, considering I was now talking to Edward.

"Yes, well, um… thank you, I think," I said quietly. I began to tap my fingers on the table, eying Edward's untouched drink. He noticed this and put it in front of me.

"No, it's yours," I protested, but he shook his head. I gave up and downed the juice. More talking was definitely necessary. Or less talking, depending on how you looked at the situation.

"Now, do you have any questions for me?" he asked. I tipped the cup back and forth in my hands, watching the remainder of juice slide from one side to the other. Why did he want to answer questions while he didn't get an answer to his own?

"That's not really fair," I said. It wasn't, not at all.

"What isn't?" he asked, lifting my chin with his finger. He smiled at me and it was like instant replay. Pounding heart? Check. Uncontrollable thoughts? Check. Breathing out of whack? Oh, not check. I guess this wasn't as full-blown a dazzling. But there went my promise to myself to not let him do it again. His hand left my face and I regained my control.

"Eh, you know, you answering questions while I don't have to," I managed to say. He laughed.

"That's perfectly fair," he contradicted me, still laughing. How did he conceive this to be fair at all? My stalker was a numbskull.

"And why is that?" I leaned forward, my head propped on my hands in an attempt to get closer to him.

"Because, I don't think I could deny you any answers," he copied my position, bringing himself even closer to me. I felt my face turn darker and took a moment to curse the heavens for it. He had that obnoxious grin on his face, and I just wanted to scream.

"That's exactly why it's not fair! I don't think I could deny you any answers either," I mumbled. He smiled again and brushed a piece of my hair back behind my ear. _'Oh my gosh, touch me again!'_ My head wanted to chorus this at the top of its lungs, but I suppressed it.

"How about this: you ask a question, I ask a question. We'll only answer what we're comfortable with. The other can't ask a question until they've actually answered one," he suggested. I considered this. At least the boy could think _proper_ fair when he tried. I nodded.

"So, I get to go first?"

"Yes, you get to go first."

"Okay..." I paused, leaning away from him and tapping my finger on my lip as I ran through everything I wanted to know before settling on one all important question. "Alright, I have my question."

"Shoot," he smiled, and I almost went into a daze again. _'Stupid, just stupid...' _I focused on my question.

"How can you read my mind?"

_EPOV_

I saw her brief hesitation. It was enough to stop me in my tracks. I froze, observing her as she watched me intently. I didn't want to make her any uncomfortable by coming closer. She had already spoken to me, which was oddly more than enough.

And what a beautiful voice she had, even though it was raspy. I could listen to her talk about absolutely nothing and still find it interesting.

"Um…" her voice was shaking, an air of nervousness behind it. Was my presence that unsettling? I knew that my vampiric traits were less than appealing so close up, but she didn't seem to mind earlier. I furrowed my brows as I took a step back.

"I'm sorry," I said and was about to continue before I noticed her frown. Her forehead creased and her lower lip stuck out slightly, a little pout. _Bella_'s pout.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, taking a step closer to me. I smiled and slowly took a step of my own. It was progress.

"I didn't want to frighten you," I answered, smiling wider when she took another step. I matched it.

"You… frighten me," she whispered. That stopped me. I didn't take a step forward as she did this time, still making her way to me slowly. Instead, I took a step back.

"I… frighten you?" I asked, my voice clearly not masking the hurt. She recognized it and her face held nothing but remorse.

"No! I-I, I didn't mean it like that!" she stuttered, her hands held up as an apology. I just stared at her, confused. Was she or was she not afraid? "I mean, it's just… well, you read my mind. But only the stuff I really concentrated on, it seemed…" she trailed off, dropping her gaze to the floor, her blush shining.

I grinned, replacing the previous step back with two steps forward. One more movement from each other and we'd be standing right in front of each other. She noticed and lifted her head, a small smile breaking her lips. She looked beautiful when she smiled, amazing, stunning… there were no words to describe it.

I took my final step. It was up to her, she would either advance or stay where she was… or worse, move further away.

I held my breath as I watched her, wondering what she would do next. Humans tended to shy away from us, naturally aware that we were dangerous. She would, of course, stay in place at the very least, or run upstairs and lock herself in her room at the most.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to deal with such rejection. I had never wanted to be so close to someone before. _Bella_ was driving my nerves to the edge, leaving me to watch her as she simply interacted with me from a distance. I was sure of it.

But then I felt the warmth increase. I opened one eye slowly, looking at her petite frame right in front of me. I cracked both eyes, surprise evidently portrayed through my face. I had issues masking my emotions in front of _Bella_, it seemed.

"Um… Edward? Are you alright?" she asked, her gaze once again on the floor. I lifted my hand leisurely to her chin, gently moving her head until she was staring me in the eyes. I smiled at her, taking in her delicate skin and porcelain complexion.

Her eyes seemed to glaze over, her breathing hitched and her heartbeat sped. I dropped my hand from her chin to her wrist, grabbing it to check the pulse.

"Is something wrong, _Bella_?" I asked, my frantic emotions once again escaping my normally cool and calm demeanour. She seemed to snap out of it, letting out and taking in a breath she seemed to have forgotten.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine… you shouldn't do that, you know," she muttered, once again dropping her face.

"Do what?" I questioned, wondering if I had upset her. She just glanced at me once more before shaking her head.

"Nothing… don't worry about it. Um… what did you want to talk about?" she requested, turning on her heels and walking away into what looked like the kitchen. I frowned, suddenly feeling the lack of heat. I followed closely behind her, trying to retain it.

"How about you allowing me to hear your thoughts?" I posed. She stopped by the refrigerator and took out a gallon of orange juice. She sighed, walking to the other side of the small kitchen to a cupboard that seemed to be filled with oddly matched mugs. Grabbing two, she poured herself and me a cupful before returning the carton to the fridge and motioning for me to sit down.

I went and sat down, accepting the cup and putting it in front of me. She sat opposite of me and took a large gulp. I snickered, realizing she was stalling for time.

"You don't have to tell me, _Bella_. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to," I said before she had a chance to finish the cup. She stopped drinking, the cup still held to her lips, and she raised an eyebrow at me. Putting the cup down, she cleared her throat.

"Yes, well, um… thank you, I think," she spoke softly. She tapped her fingers against the table, eying my cup of juice. I picked it up and put it in front of her. She began to protest but I shook my head, motioning for her to drink it.

"Now, do you have any questions for me?" I asked, watching her down another cup. Her throat must have been incredibly dry from her lack of talking. She finished the juice and put the cup down, holding it in her hands as she tipped it side-to-side, as if examining the patterns of juice residue left.

"That's not really fair," she muttered, keeping her eyes down.

"What isn't?" I inquired, once again lifting her chin with my finger. I didn't like it when she wouldn't look at me. I would rather see her eyes and blush straight on, instead of at an angle.

Her eyes seemed to gloss once more as I smiled, hoping she'd speak some more. Her voice was quickly becoming something I'd want to hear constantly. I thanked whatever being existed for the ever amazing memory of a vampire, allowing me to replay it over and over. However, it was nowhere near as wonderful as hearing it firsthand.

I dropped my hand, waiting for her to speak. Instead, I only heard her heart beat slow down slightly, still quite a few beats faster than normal. Was she sick?

"Eh, you know, you answering questions while I don't have to," she said, finally breaking out of her stupor. I chuckled and, once again, noticed her heart beat pick up.

"That's perfectly fair," I retorted, still chuckling.

"And why is that?" she asked, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the table, her head propped up on her hands.

"Because, I don't think I could deny you any answers," I responded, mirroring her position. I watched her blush redden and felt my grin grow some more.

"That's exactly why it's not fair! I don't think I could deny you any answers either," she mumbled. I smiled and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ears.

"How about this: you ask a question, I ask a question. We'll only answer what we're comfortable with. The other can't ask a question until they've actually answered one," I positioned. She seemed to think it over for a split second before nodding slightly.

"So, I get to go first?"

"Yes, you get to go first."

"Okay…" she paused, sitting back and tapping her lip with her finger. "Alright, I have my question."

"Shoot," I smiled.

"How can you read my mind?"

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **OH. MY. ROBWARD. He can read her mind?! When did this happen? Oh, wait... WE MADE IT HAPPEN. And that cliffie? I laughed. A lot. You all don't know, you all don't now, nah-nah-nyah-nah! Also, I hope you all notice that everytime Edward says her name, it's in italics. A little personal touch o' mine. Review, peeps, for some awesome replies. TRD is cool like that and replies to them. I sit and watch her reply. It's fun because I get to be lazy, ya hear?

**TRDancer: **Guys, I'm really tired. Cheer me up with some reviews, and if you get a sucky reply with loooooooooooong drawn out letters (like that), I'm very sorry. At least that's semi-entertaining. I think. Also, maybe go read "Family Therapy" by TeaCullen? She likes run-on sentences for reviews. Actually, if you want to write us a run-on sentence review, that might entertain me. And wake me up. Okay, I'm rambling now... AH, to heck with it, just effing review. PLEASE? :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_BPOV_

I watched as he hesitated. I had expected him to just go _'I have no idea, Bella. How do you thought-project?'_ But he seemed to actually be thinking about it.

"I don't know how I can read your mind. Usually I can read everyone's mind, but every since you came to Forks High, you've been the silent one. No matter how hard I concentrated, it was as if there were a veil covering your mind. Until you started to project your thoughts," he said, faster than I thought possible. I raised an eyebrow at him. What was he blabbering about?

"Eh...what?" I asked, utterly confused. He smiled that smile again and shook his head.

"No, no. It's my turn, remember?" he chuckled and I smiled at him. He was so dazzling I couldn't help it.

"Why are you smiling?" he inquired. I felt the blood run to my face again. I probably looked like a grape by now. I wasn't about to tell Edward Cullen that he just dazzled me beyond belief and made me forget all about my game. Especially since he didn't even know there _was_ a game.

"Um... another question," I mumbled, looking at the tabletop again. Stupid emotions, taking over my brain.

"We don't have to do this, _Bella_. Like I said, I'm not going to force you to do anything you aren't comfortable with," I lifted my head to look at him and pretended to have trouble smiling. _'Depressed persona, depressed persona.'_ I repeated in my head like a mantra. "And you don't have to act happy if you're not. Would you like me to leave?"

"N-no!" I cried, standing up and putting my hands on his shoulders. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I was just annoyed. He just had to take everything to the extreme, didn't he?

"No?" he said in a teasing tone. _'Yes, of course, Edward, just leave! _No_, you idiot.'_

"Uh, no, you don't have to go, I mean," I said, more rationally, sitting down again. He stood up and I could tell my face showed all my emotions.

_"Damn it, Edward, I said _no_," _I thought loudly, hoping he'd hear. It was a desperate situation. He smiled, indicating he had. He held out his hand and I took it, feeling my frown turn into a smile. He led me into the living room and when I sat down on the couch he took a seat in the recliner across from me.

"It's still your turn," I reminded him. He laughed and nodded.

"Alright...what's your favorite color?" he asked.

"Gold," I said without thinking. My hands flew to my mouth.

"What's wrong?" he asked, running over to me and moving my hands out of the way. I stared into his _gold_ eyes, blushing.

"It's just..." I trailed off. Did he really need to know?

"Yes?" It seemed he did need to know. Persistent much?

"Your eyes. They're gold," I returned my gaze to my lap. He was learning too much, too much!

"What about you?" I asked him, curious.

"Brown. Most definitely brown."

I glared at him. '_Mean!'_ "You don't have to tease me, you know. No one likes brown."

"I'm not teasing you. Brown is my new favorite color. It's earthy, solid, full, beautiful, toned, wonderful, amazing, mysterious, knowledgeable, stunning," I wondered how he could find all that in a color. Then I considered that maybe we weren't discussing colors anymore...

"Well, uh, yeah, sure," I looked away from him again. He was coming dangerously close to doing that dazzling thing again.

"_Bella_?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you look at me please?" He placed his finger on my chin but didn't move my head this time. I felt electric currents buzzing through me and I was most definitely not going to look at him while he was touching me like that.

"No," I snorted at him.

"Why not?" he whispered, tracing his finger along my jaw line. _'Because, Edward, you are a gorgeous mind-reader who drives me insane with the fact you can cause me to lose control of my thoughts.'_

"I'm afraid you'll use that overwhelming voodoo, Edward Cullen-dazzling on me," I snapped at him.

"Voodoo? Dazzling?" I looked at him. His eyebrows were raised. Excuse me if he didn't understand his own powers.

"You know, where you just smile that little, obnoxious crooked grin, and your eyes flutter open a little wider, your nose kind of scrunches up along with your lips, and then you get those two little cute dimples," I threw my arms up in an attempt to be dramatic and leaned back on the couch. Why did he need this explained anyways?

"'Cute'?" I blushed yet again as he uttered that word. He laughed and finally dropped his finger from my face. "You think I'm 'cute'?"

He smiled at me yet again, and I felt myself revert to dazzled-mode. Darn stalker. Using my weakness against me.

"No," I replied slowly. He wasn't just 'cute', he was the epitome of perfection. I saw his face fall and suppressed a chuckle, instead pressing on with my explanation. "Not cute. Handsome, of course. But not cute."

"For what it's worth, I think you're quite beautiful yourself," he whispered to me, once again touching my face. I was almost dazzled again when his words sunk in. It was game-play time. I had a brilliant idea. I moved away from him.

"Don't do that," I said, triggering tears. He moved back towards me and turned my head towards him.

"Do what?" he asked, wiping away a tear from my cheek.

"Lie."

"What are you talking about?" I almost laughed through my tears.

"I'm not beautiful, Edward. And I'm definitely not compared to you," I snapped at him. "If this is some joke you and the popular kids or whatever do, then just stop. I don't want to have to deal with that again." Edwards upset face turned to annoyance.

"Listen to me, and listen well, _Bella_. You are incredibly beautiful. In fact, I don't think beautiful is a strong enough word. To that effect, I don't think a strong enough word _exists_ to portray your beauty. Compared to you, I turn out as old moss on the bottom of a rock. Don't say you aren't beautiful, because you are so much more than that."

I started crying full out. I couldn't help it after that speech. He disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a paper towel. He started to wipe the tears off my face. I just stared at him in disbelief.

"Why are you still trying?" I asked him. I really wanted to know. What did he think I had been talking about when I mentioned the popular kids? He stopped moving and seemed to be considering the question. I wished I could hear _his_ thoughts, rather than the other way around.

"I… feel that there is a connection between us, _Bella_. And I've never felt that before… I was… I was hoping you'd do me the honor of going to Port Angeles this weekend, on… a date?" he stuttered out the question. My eyes widened.

A _date_?

That's what he got out of all of this?

_EPOV_

I didn't want her to know what _I_ was thinking. She couldn't possibly know that I was reading her mind purposefully. Didn't she simply assume it was because she was thought-projecting? It would have been a simple lie, too.

_'Bella, I read your mind because you allowed me to,'_ would have allowed me to still be truthful, but also not reveal _too_ much. I was still waiting for the moment where she realized that she should be far, far away from me.

And that hurt. A lot.

I couldn't bring myself to say it either. It would have been a simple half-truth, and through the decades, I had become a master fraud. Why would _Bella_ be any exception to my rule?

"I don't know how I can read your mind. Usually I can read everyone's mind, but every since you came to Forks High, you've been the silent one. No matter how hard I concentrated, it was as if there were a veil covering your mind. Until you started to project your thoughts," I blurted out, inhumanely quick to a eyebrow-raised _Bella._

"Eh… what?" her answer came, confused. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, no. It's my turn, remember?" I chuckled. The eyebrow dropped and she smiled back. I knew my question.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked, wondering what was so particularly funny. And if I thought her face was red before, it was purple now.

"Um… another question," she muttered, looking down. I frowned, upset that I had made her uncomfortable already.

"We don't have to do this, _Bella_. Like I said, I'm not going to force you to do anything you aren't comfortable with," I told her, watching her every action. She lifted her gaze to mine and tried to smile. "And you don't have to act happy if you're not. Would you like me to leave?"

Why, yes. _That_ hurt, too.

"N-no!" she cried out rather quickly, standing up and holding onto my shoulders. I raised an eyebrow, surprised by her reaction. Would _Bella_ ever do the expected?

"No?" I teased, feeling that tug again. She wanted me to stay? '_Why, I would be more than happy to oblige…'_

"Uh, no, you don't have to go, I mean," she said quietly, sitting back down. I stood and she looked distraught that I was leaving.

_"Damn it, Edward, I said _no_,"_ she huffed in her mind, her tone almost hurt, her frown widening.

I smiled and reached for her hand. She noticed and took it, the frown being replaced with a beam. I grabbed the two mugs and put them in the kitchen sink, leading her back to the living room. I waited for her to take a seat on the couch before I sat opposite of her on the recliner.

"It's still your turn," she reminded me. I chuckled, nodding my head.

"Alright… what's your favorite color?"

"Gold," another blurt, her hands flying up to her mouth as if it would stop me from hearing her previous thoughts.

"What's wrong?" I rushed to her side and moved her hands, checking to make sure she was alright. Her blush was back as she stared into my eyes.

"It's just…" she trailed off, still looking at me intensely.

"… yes?"

"Your eyes. They're gold," she mumbled, looking down. My triumphant grin returned. She liked the color gold because _my_ eyes were gold?

"What about you?"

"Brown. Most definitely brown."

She glared at me. "You don't have to tease me, you know. No one likes brown," she muttered.

"I'm not teasing you. Brown is my new favorite color. It's earthy, solid, full, beautiful, toned, wonderful, amazing, mysterious, knowledgeable, stunning," I wondered if she knew I wasn't talking about colors anymore.

"Well, uh, yeah, sure," she mumbled, looking away again.

_'Stop looking away, _Bella_.'_

"_Bella_?" I prompted.

"Hmm?" She hummed.

"Will you look at me please?" I asked, putting my finger under her chin again, but not moving her head toward me. Instead, I just kept it there, relishing in the electricity and heat running through the rest of my body.

"No," she snorted. Even _Bella_'s snorts sounded precious.

"Why not?" I whispered, tracing her jaw line with my finger.

"I'm afraid you'll use that overwhelming voodoo, Edward Cullen-dazzling on me," she retorted. My eyebrows were once again raised, more today than my entire life, I was sure.

"Voodoo? Dazzling?" I clarified, confused at what she was talking about. She turned to look at me, her eyes calculating my reaction.

"You know, where you just smile that little, obnoxious crooked grin, and your eyes flutter open a little wider, your nose kind of scrunches up along with your lips, and then you get those two little cute dimples," she said, throwing her arms in the air dramatically and leaning back in the couch. I waited for her breathing and heartbeat to calm before I asked my next question.

"'Cute'?" Her blush was once again the purple shade of concentrated blood. I chuckled and dropped my finger from her face. "You think I'm 'cute'?"

I smiled when she looked over to me again, as if deciding how to respond. Her eyes glossed over once more, and I assumed that this was her 'dazzled'-mode.

"No," she said slowly. I felt my face fall, suddenly aware of the rejection. _'Well, there went the confidence I've built over the past century, all gone with one word uttered by a human.'_

But not just any human. _Bella._

"Not cute. Handsome, of course. But not cute."

I had to fight the urge to hold her hand, hug her, kiss her—something.

"For what it's worth, I think you're quite beautiful yourself," I whispered, once again tracing her jaw line with my finger. Her eyes half-lidded and she smiled for a second before widening her eyes and looking away. She moved several inches away from me, and the rejection was back.

"Don't do that," she said in a strained voice, and I could hear the tears building. I scooted after her, turning her head so our eyes met once more.

"Do what?" I questioned, wiping away a single stray tear.

"Lie."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not understanding what I was lying about. I was sure I had been honest all day… more so than usual, even.

"I'm not beautiful, Edward. And I'm definitely not compared to you," she retorted, trying to hold back the rest of her tears. "If this is some joke you and the popular kids or whatever do, then just stop. I don't want to have to deal with that again."

I was sure my upset face was suddenly morphed to ire and unadulterated annoyance. Could she not see herself for what she really was?

"Listen to me, and listen well, _Bella_. You are incredibly beautiful. In fact, I don't think beautiful is a strong enough word. To that effect, I don't think a strong enough word _exists_ to portray your beauty," my voice was rather stern and firm, but I had to let her know that. "Compared to you, I turn out as old moss on the bottom of a rock. Don't say you aren't beautiful, because you are so much more than that."

Her tears were flowing now, whether because she was upset or moved, I didn't know. I got up and went back to the kitchen, returning to the living room with a paper towel. I wiped her face off as she just watched me, her eyes holding nothing but disbelief.

"Why are you still trying?" she asked. I stopped and considered this. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to learn more about _Bella_, every single detail there was to know. I wanted to make sure that _Bella_ never cried again, that her frown was always a smile. I wanted… simply to be around _Bella_.

"I… feel that there is a connection between us, _Bella_. And I've never felt that before… I was… I was hoping you'd do me the honor of going to Port Angeles this weekend, on… a date?" My proposition was full of stuttering, pauses, and it ended as a question.

Damn it. Rule one: never let a proposition for a date turn into a question!

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **Damn right, Edward! What were you thinking? And Bella... such a liar. Tsk, tsk. Vampires and teenagers these days, amirite? Imrite. Review, peeps, and thanks. We're switching to a twice-a-week-schedule.

**TRDancer: **Aww... cute. Bella revealed fake past. Edward didn't really notice. Typical Edward. :P The schedule is Tuesday and Friday now, btw. Review, please! :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_BPOV_

What? Had Edward Cullen just asked me out... on a _date_? I stared at him in complete shock, wondering how I was supposed to respond to that. My first instinct was to yell 'Yes!' loudly and dance around, but that didn't exactly fit new Bella's personality.

And in Port Angeles, there was always the chance of a breakdown because I could accidentally brush against some girl walking down the street. That wouldn't do. I frowned.

"What would we do?" I asked. I didn't really care as long as I was with him, but it was important that I not be in danger of breakdowns.

"Uh... watch a movie... eat dinner...?" he suggested, staring into my eyes. I was almost dazzled again, but I managed to look down at the last second and avoid it. _'Victory!'_

Movie, dinner... relatively harmless. Just as long as we didn't go shopping. Neither old Bella nor new Bella liked that prospect. I would just have to be careful all the time.

"Sure, I guess," I decided, getting up from the couch and checking the time on the kitchen clock. I turned back to see my stalker sitting there with a look of pure happiness on his face. Oh, God. I was going to find more ways to make this gorgeous boy look happy all the time.

"My dad's going to be home soon, and I promised I'd make dinner..." I trailed off, watching some of the happiness leave his face.

"Ah, don't worry, I'll get out of your way," he turned towards the door and I watched him go, sighing. Just as he was about to step out the door, I realized he didn't have a vehicle, considering I had driven him here.

"How are you going to get home without a car?" I called out after him. He turned around slowly and smiled at me.

"I'll enjoy the walk. Give myself time to clear my head," he said, traces of a smirk on his face. I furrowed my brows. Didn't he live sort of far out of town? I'd thought I had heard Jessica say that on one of the rants she'd went on before she started to shun me. I decided it wasn't important and shrugged.

"Okay, then. I guess I'll see you tomorrow...?" What I had meant to be a statement had come out as more of a question, which was completely irrational. Obviously we both had school.

"The weather agreeing," he said cryptically, and before I could ask him what that meant, the door shut and I was left standing in the middle of the dining room, confused.

***

After dinner with Charlie, which consisted of me eating my food and him watching me eat my food with that _look_ on his face again, I was relieved to just lie on my bed and _relax._ I was so tired; and when I sat up and looked in the mirror hanging above the dresser on the other side of the room, I saw that I definitely looked tired too, even without that glorifying make-up.

I showered—ah, the heavenly feeling—and got ready for bed in my typical fashion as to not alarm Charlie. I sat on my bed flipping through a magazine restlessly until I heard the sounds of the TV abruptly stop and Charlie start heading up the stairs. I flicked off the light and covered my head with the blankets, attempting to sound like I was breathing regularly.

The bedroom door opened and I tried my hardest not to tense up, breathing deeply in and out. It seemed my acting skills were better than I had thought, or Charlie was just ignoring the fact I wasn't sleeping, because the door closed and I heard him shuffle down the hallway to his room.

When I was sure Charlie was safely locked away in his bedroom, I got up and flicked the light on again. As I did so, I heard a bumping noise from outside my window and I froze.

I slowly turned and walked over to the window, peering out at the yard below. Was someone trying to break in? I didn't see anything, so I turned and went back to my bed, picking up the magazine again. Dating tips... How to Attract Any Boy... I snorted. Like I needed that when Edward Cullen was _stalking_ me. I wondered whether I should emphasize Edward Cullen and me instead of stalking.

_Edward Cullen_ was stalking _me_. Yes, that sounded much better.

I stopped flipping through the pages when I heard another sound from outside. I cocked my head, trying to place the sound. I realized it was a twig snapping and I went and looked out the window again. I scanned the shadows carefully. I still didn't see a thing, so I gave up. I flicked off my lights and lay down on my bed. I set my alarm to go off in three hours, not wanting to get too much sleep and have to resort to that stupid, non-waterproof make-up, and closed my eyes.

Not too many minutes later, as I was drifting off, I heard my window slide open. I suppressed the urge to open my eyes and scream the hell out of the person sneaking into my room. I wanted them to get in the room first, so I could at least see who they were.

There was barely a noise when feet landed on the floor. I snapped open my eyes and sat up; looking directly where I thought the perpetrator had landed.

I almost fainted dead away. I was staring straight up into the eyes of none other than my personal stalker, Edward Cullen.

_EPOV_

I was frozen once more. _Bella_ didn't seem to react in any way. I just stared as her internal-debate face came on once more.

Was the idea that repulsive? She didn't seem to mind me around, she had reacted in the most peculiar way… maybe that was it. Her reactions were the opposite of what I expected. I expected her to say 'yes'—all the signs pointed to it.

But, of course, she would say 'no.' She would call me a creep and call her father to kick me out of the house.

"What would we do?" she struggled to get the words out, speaking timidly. I hadn't thought about that.

"Uh… watch a movie… eat dinner…?" Once again, I also struggled to get the words out, turning my idea into a question.

I had never been on a date before, but that seemed to be the norm. Would that be alright with her? Was it too cliché? Not cliché enough? If only I could permanently read her mind, this would have been so much easier. She broke her gaze away from mine quickly after she stole a glance at me.

Standing, she spoke: "Sure, I guess." She took a few steps back and peered into the kitchen. I didn't pay attention. _Bella_ just agreed to go on a date with me. The smile that broke out must have been matched only by the sun.

"My dad's going to be home soon, and I promised I'd make dinner…" she stopped speaking when my face fell. I had to leave? So soon? Did she want me to leave, to not meet her father?

"Ah, don't worry, I'll get out of your way," I stood and gave her a small smile. Turning heel, I walked toward the door to prepare for tomorrow, as well as settle plans for this Saturday. She called after me as soon as I reached the door.

"How are you going to get home without a car?" I slowly turned back and smiled.

"I'll enjoy the walk. Give myself time to clear my head," I clarified, though my mind was plenty clear. I simply had to organize everything, possibly plan something special. She shrugged and frowned—a combination I couldn't understand. Was that nonchalance or woe?

"Okay, then. I guess I'll see you tomorrow...?" For once, _her_ statement came out as a question, signaling that she must be looking forward to seeing me. At least, that was what I told myself.

"The weather agreeing," I responded slowly, turning around to leave quickly before I was asked to be more specific.

~*~

"Edward!" Esme embraced me in a hug when I entered the house. I hugged her back and smiled.

"Hello, mom. How are you?" I asked, trying to be polite though I only wanted to go to my room and think.

"Oh, just fine," she replied, and then thought: _'So, I hear there's someone new at school…'_

I groaned, only wondering what one of my siblings must have said.

"Yes, there is," I responded, breaking the hug and taking a step back. Esme eyed me up and down before nodding.

"That's great, dear. I'm so happy for you," she smiled, not bothering to answer questions. Alice must have seen something for Esme to be _happy_ about this. I knew I was, but for no true reason. I had earned enough of _Bella_'s trust to gain one date. Wedding bells were not part of the equation… and she _was_ human.

"Oh Eddie!" Alice ran down and threw herself onto me, shoving me onto the floor from the force of her hug. I pushed her off and stood, wiping any dirt that would have gathered on my shirt.

"Alice," I quipped. I shrugged as she hugged me again, much tighter this time.

"So, so, so! Can you believe it? It's finally happened! Edward has found his Jasper!" she squealed. I rose an eyebrow as Jasper came into the room and grabbed Alice off of me.

"What?" I asked.

"You know! Your Jasper," she began, "The 'one.'"

Both eyebrows raised by now, I stared at her, watching the vision that played in her mind.

**Bella**_** and Alice were sitting on the swing-chair outside of a cottage. Both were talking animatedly about something or another, but something was wrong. **_**Bella**_** looked more pale, and her eyes were a deep topaz, her skin glittered when the sun broke through the clouds…**_

"_No!_" I all but snarled, Alice flinching back from my reaction. I narrowed my eyes at her and let a growl escape. "_Bella_ is not going to become a vampire," I hissed.

Alice stood her ground and glared at me. "Sorry, Edward, but I've seen it. That vision is as clear as any of the for-sure futures I've seen. It's going to happen. I just can't tell when… though she doesn't look too old, so I'm assuming sometime within the next 3 years?" she finished, her voice hopeful and excited.

I, however, was neither. There was no way I would allow _Bella_ to live such a wretched life. I opened my mouth to tell my sister off when her eyes glazed over and she had another vision.

**Bella**_** was sitting in her bed, her eyes puffy and red. Her face was flustered and stung, and she was coughing violently. The date on the clock beside her bed read as the next day, and she was staring intently at the corner of the room…**_

The vision ended and I frowned. _Bella_ was going to be ill? And alone? That wouldn't do. Alice began to block her visions with different back issues of magazines. I frowned and began to walk toward her. Jasper immediately stood between us and gave me a look.

"Move, Jasper," I commanded. Instead, he began to pump me full of calming waves, setting me into a euphoric tranquility. I sighed, ignoring their powers. Shrugging, I ran upstairs and to change. I would back to her house and make sure she was okay tomorrow. When school ended, I would wait a few more minutes before knocking on her door, telling her I came to check up on her since she was absent.

It was a plan. A good plan. Nothing would go wrong.

~*~

I sat atop her roof, ducking my head down to check on her in her room every once in a while. She had cooked dinner and made small talk uncomfortably with her father. After that, she went to relax for an hour in her room. It was amazing how I didn't mind simply sitting here, waiting while she did the most mundane of things.

A few moments later, she went and took a shower. I moved from my spot on the roof to the tree, waiting for her to return. When she did, she sat on her bed and began to flip through magazines. Her father had stopped watching TV and had come up to check in on her. She must have noticed because she switched the lights off and threw the sheets over her head, pretending to breathe shallowly as if she were asleep. I wondered why she was pretending.

After he checked in on _Bella_, her father made his way to his room and quickly fell asleep. Poor man must have been exhausted. _Bella_ waited for a few minutes before turning her light on again. I moved to the window perch and chuckled, bumping against the wall.

_Bella_'s head snapped up and looked at me. I was much quicker, however, and was able to shift to the rooftop again. I heard her walk to the window, presumably to check what the noise had been. I heard her walk back to the bed and grab something. She sat down and I heard the papers shuffling as she flipped through the magazine.

Moving back to my previous spot, I peered in and tried to see what she was reading. It was some feminine magazine, and I snorted—she did at the same time and I held back another chuckle.

After twenty minutes, I decided to see if she could tell I was here. I tapped slightly against the window. She once again came over as I went to the roof. I smiled despite realizing that it could scare her. Maybe she would have called me if she were afraid.

I frowned, realizing she didn't have my number. I didn't think she had a cell phone either… alright, after the Mercedes Guardian, I'd get her a cell phone. Or maybe I'd suggest one after the other, hoping she'd accept them. Girls liked shopping and gifts, right?

Apprehending that she needed to sleep—why was she up this late in the first place?--_Bella_ flicked the lights off once more and went to her bed. I listened closely, her heart beat steadying and her breathing evening. Figuring she was asleep, I opened the window but cursed when it made a loud noise. Something else to purchase: oil.

I entered her room but froze when _Bella_ shot up and stared directly at me.

Her face held no fear, though. Or even worry. She was smiling.

"Uh… hello, _Bella_," I tried my best to smile back. _'Curse you, Alice, now I know why you were hiding your vision…'_

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **Sorry it took so long, guys! Complications arose. But at least the chapter was really long, huh? EPOV... that was just me filling in space, but hopefully you liked it **:)** Hope the humor is catching on!

**TRDancer: **Yes, a long time. *mutters something about evil parents confiscating her laptop* Anyways, read on! As in, click the next button. WAIT! But not until you click the review button. None of that pishy-poshy, I'm reviewing both chapters in one! Or I'll call you lazy. Muahaha.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_BPOV_

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" I asked conversationally, still staring at him.

"I... uh, I... um... wanted to see how you were... feeling," he stammered. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"You wanted to know how I was feeling at 11 PM? Couldn't you have, I don't know, _waited_ to see me tomorrow?" I asked, running a hand through my hair to get it out of the way. I couldn't let anything get in the way of my view of Edward Cullen standing in the middle of my bedroom like a lost puppy.

"Well..."

"Or maybe you could have _called_, if you were that desperate. Which you obviously were, considering you _came through my window_. Just goes to show, I was right about you..." I trailed off suggestively.

"You were right about me? Right about what?" He fell straight into the trap I had set for him. I grinned devilishly.

"Well, Edward Cullen, you are most definitely the stalker I thought you to be," my smile grew even larger. He grimaced.

"You consider me a stalker?" he asked, putting his emotions into his voice. Now the boy _sounded_ like a lost and wounded puppy. I just nodded at him.

"Well, it's not like you can deny it, considering you just came through my bedroom window," I was stressing the window thing a lot, but I figured it needed to be stressed.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked me. I blinked. '_That was random.__'_

"I could ask you the same question," I retorted. He stared at me for a couple seconds as if still expecting me to answer, and then turned to the window.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving you in peace then. Go back to sleep," he started to climb out the window, but I jumped out of my bed, grabbing his arm.

"Don't leave! I'm..." I took a deep breath. "I'm not going to sleep anyways," I admitted. He turned and looked at me again with an expression of disbelief. I tugged on his arm and he allowed me to propel him to the rocking chair in the corner. I sat on the end of my bed and stared at him.

"Are you going to tell me why you don't sleep?" he asked. I let out a soft groan. Obviously this guy had a one-track mind. "You don't have to, but I would like it if you did..."

"I... I just don't like talking about... yeah..." I finished my sentence lamely, looking down and tracing the patterns on my comforter with my finger. Maybe if I tried hard enough he'd give up. I glanced at him. He had a determined look in his eyes. _'__Uh oh. Don__'__t think I__'__m getting out of this one.__'_

"Well, I'm always here to support you, _Bella_. You can tell this stalker whatever you want; I promise not to utter a word to anyone else," he smiled a little at his stalker joke. I sighed.

"I don't sleep because I get nightmares," I said, all in one breath. He seemed to understand me though.

"Nightmares?" he asked. He seemed to be deep in thought. "What about?" He leaned forward. I swallowed. I didn't really have this story planned; and if I were new Bella, I wouldn't want to talk about it.

"Like I said... I don't want to talk about it," I searched his face with my eyes, hoping he wouldn't press on. He seemed to understand my silent plea and dropped the subject.

Suddenly, he seemed very far away. The room wasn't that big, but the metre and a half or so between us was entirely too much. I stared at the floor again. I wished he'd come sit next to me instead of way over there. _'__Oh, Edward, I need you! Sit next to me!__'_ I kept my thoughts as quiet as I could possibly control.

Without any warning, I felt the bed sink lower beside me and looked up. Edward was sitting there, smiling like the freaking sun.

"You know I don't like it when you look away from me, _Bella_," he said, obviously trying to be stern but it came out as more of a joke. I smiled half-heartedly, though I could have put my whole heart into it. Edward Cullen was sitting next to me, causing some sort of warm fuzzy electrical currents to run through my body.

Nothing could be better than that.

_EPOV_

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" she said as if it were completely normal for me to be here.

"I... uh, I... um... wanted to see how you were... feeling," I attempted to answer with something logical, but the words simply fell poorly out of my mouth. She raised her eyebrows, but I noticed the smile was still there.

"You wanted to know how I was feeling at 11 PM? Couldn't you have, I don't know, _waited_ to see me tomorrow?" she asked. _Bella_ ran a hand through her hair, removing it from her face. She was absolutely breathtaking in the moonlight.

"Well..." I was at a loss for words. Was _she_ 'dazzling' _me_ now?

"Or maybe you could have _called_, if you were that desperate. Which you obviously were, considering you _came through my window_. Just goes to show, I was right about you..." she seemed to end on a hinting note, baiting me to question for it. And, of course, I obliged.

"You were right about me? Right about what?" I asked nervously, to which she replied first with a brighter grin.

"Well, Edward Cullen, you are most definitely the stalker I thought you to be." I flinched at the word 'stalker.'

"You consider me a stalker?" Even I could tell my voice was hurt. She nodded and that didn't do anything to make me feel better. Forget about the date, now I had to deal with her father, the town, and God knew what else. And simply because I wanted to make sure she was okay…

"Well, it's not like you can deny it, considering you just came through my bedroom window," she whispered, somewhat emphasizing her words. Was she already sick? Delusion was a strong symptom, coupled with inability to sleep… and one of the first things I _did_ notice about her were signs of sleep deprivation.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" I asked suddenly, thankful that I was able to change the subject.

"I could ask you the same question," she retorted. I waited for her to continue, but she just stared at me. I figured I had already caused enough damage—leaving would be the best option. I turned to walk toward window, saying my goodbye and climbing out.

"Don't leave! I'm..." She jumped out of her bed and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to sleep anyways," she whispered. I turned toward her and rose my eyebrows, wondering why she wasn't going to sleep. Allowing her to lead me to a chair in the corner, she motioned for me to sit down. She went back to her bed but sat down instead of lying.

"Are you going to tell me why you don't sleep?" I asked, hoping she'd explain. She groaned, clearly irritated that I asked. "You don't have to, but I would like it if you did..." I didn't want to force her into anything, I was simply curious and worried. Humans needed seven to eight hours of sleep, and _Bella_ was no exception to that.

"I... I just don't like talking about... yeah..." She trailed off, looking down and drawing along the patterns of her comforter with her finger. She glanced up and met my eyes, her gaze flattering a little.

_'__Uh oh. Don__'__t think I__'__m getting out of this one.__'_ Yes, clearly she wanted me to drop it. That only intrigued me more. She was beginning to give.

"Well, I'm always here to support you, _Bella_. You can tell this stalker whatever you want; I promise not to utter a word to anyone else," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. She sighed, not finding it funny.

"I don't sleep because I get nightmares," she huffed airlessly, the words slurring together.

"Nightmares?" I clarified. What nightmares would _Bella_ have? Nightmares were a psychological response to fear or pain, and more common among young children. What was bothering her so much as to affect her daily sleep? "What about?" I asked, leaning forward. She swallowed, nervous.

"Like I said... I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, locking her eyes with mine again. She was beginning to become more uncomfortable and I would stop now. I had already broken into her room and upset her, no need to further damage any chance of _Bella _speaking to me again.

Not only did she seem uncomfortable, she began to visibly fidget, as if she were in some horrible position. She stared at the floor and began to intertwine her fingers, and I could have sworn I heard a muffled whimper.

_"__Oh, Edward, I need you! Sit next to me!__" _Her thought-projection was nothing but a whisper, and I wasn't sure I was supposed to hear it, but I didn't care. I _did_ hear it.

In an instant, moving at the fastest speed I could, I moved to her side. She reacted slowly, looking up well after I was sitting next to her, my smile so wide it reflected the moonlight onto her skin.

"You know I don't like it when you look away from me, _Bella_," I teased. She smiled slightly, though her body was tense. Was she nervous still? Her heat beat was flaring, and I could see the slight pink tinge to her cheeks. I knew she wanted me to sit next to her… but…

Maybe… just maybe… she wanted more than that.

Slowly, I lifted my arm and moved to put it around her shoulder.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **All I have to say is LAWL. Also, could you please review both chapters? We like reviews. Yeah. Review. Reviewed yet? No? How about now? Good.

Oh, and the next chapter is hilarious.

**TRDancer: **Is funneh. And I'm gonna cut this AN short (since I wanna update NOW) with REVIEW! Both chapters, please and thank yuh! :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_BPOV_

I felt his arm drop over my shoulders and I went back on what I had thought a moment ago.

Having Edward Cullen sit next to me may be nice, but this… _this_ was heavenly. I leaned into him, closing my eyes, and inhaled. He _smelt_ like heaven. How was it even possible that something this perfect could be on Earth?

I leaned back and opened my eyes so I could look at him again. He looked just as perfect sitting in the moonlight as he did in full daylight; if not more perfect. I sighed and leaned into his chest again. I inhaled deeply, savouring the smell of forests and freshwater that was Edward Cullen. I was busy fantasizing about us _in _a forest with a river in it when Edward's voice interrupted me.

"What are you doing?" I opened my eyes and felt blood color my cheeks. I slowly leaned away from him. _'__Caught.__'_

"Nothin'," I whispered, staring down at the floor. He chuckled and lifted my head with his finger. He smiled his crooked smile at me, and I was instantly dazzled. _'__Stupid powers of charm...__'_

"Is something wrong, _Bella_?" he whispered in my ear. I shook my head, my nose brushing against his cheek. What absurd idea was that? Nothing at all could ever be _wrong_ when I was with Edward. "Breathe, _Bella. _Breathe."

I sighed and concentrated on breathing. _'__In and out, in and out...__'_ All of a sudden, Edward wasn't sitting next to me anymore. I followed his movements with my eyes. What had I done wrong? What had I done that would make him jump away like that?

"Uh… I'm sorry, Edward, I didn't mean to…" I sighed, looking at the floor. Perfection in the form of Edward Cullen was obviously going to be unattainable. I heard him come back and kneel in front of me, taking my hand. I looked up at him, frowning. "I really am sorry; I didn't know what I was doing, I swear. Don't leave, just please, don't leave!" I hurried to get the words out, afraid he would cut me off and say goodbye. I could feel tears in my eyes, but I ignored them.

He smiled and brushed his fingers up and down my arms, leaving goose bumps. "No, _Bella_, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come that close to you, and I shouldn't have put you in such a situation. You did nothing wrong," I relaxed, hearing his words and feeling his touch. There was a gust of a wind, and I opened my eyes to find that I was being held by Edward. I smiled slightly, cuddling closer to him.

I felt him move and I tried to move even closer to him. Much to my dismay, he put me down in my bed, and I pouted. When he lay down beside me, I stopped pouting and cheered up. _'Edward Cullen is in my bed.'_ I entertained this notion, a bit astounded.

He was lying too far away for me; though it was only a couple inches. I moved closer and grabbed his arm, putting it around me. I nestled one arm onto his chest and the other on his side. He laughed nervously and I smiled a little. _'Looks like maybe Bella Swan is doing some dazzling here...'_

I realized that my hand was lying right on top of Edward's muscles. I moved my hand from one pec to the other, amazed at its shape and the lines defined through the shirt. He looked far more lanky when his brothers were standing next to him, but the Edward right next to me was cut from stone.

Then I started to wonder if he had a six pack, or what. I ran my hand down his chest and stomach, tapping along, counting the muscles. _'One, two... three, four... five, six... I am pretty much fondling Edward Cullen in bed... seven, eight... nine, ten.'_

Edward Cullen had a ten pack. Not a six pack, not an eight pack, but a freaking _ten_ pack. I smiled, satisfied with my counting. And I was lying in a bed with him. Touching said ten pack. And the chest. That was nice, too. I couldn't decided what was nicer. So I continued.

Then I realized I had my other hand on his side. Diverting my attention to that hand, I ran it up his side a few times, feeling the bumps over his ribs that models would have killed for, working out 20 hours a week while eating nothing by protein shakes.

Something told me Edward didn't even work out. He was just naturally perfect. It wasn't fair. His only flaw was… heck, I couldn't even think of one. I stopped my groping and spoke.

"Edward?" I asked slowly, drawing out his name. I said his name again, attempting to say it differently. I continued this for a few minutes, entertained. Finally, when I determined there were no other ways to say it, I fell silent, and Edward spoke.

"Yes, _Bella_?" I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"Hey, why aren't _you_ asleep?" I inquired, tilting my head. He laughed.

"I don't sleep," he replied. I tilted my head further. That didn't make any sense. Everyone _slept,_ even if they did have nightmares, like new Bella.

"What do you mean?" He shook his head at me.

"Goodnight, _Bella_, you have a… fun day ahead of you tomorrow," I wondered what he was talking about, and was going to ask, but didn't bother. I closed my eyes.

"Will you stay?" I mumbled as I lost coherency.

"If you want me to…" he trailed off.

"I… want… you… Edward…" I whispered, blacking out.

_EPOV_

My arm draped over her shoulder. Instantly, she relaxed and leaned her head against my chest. I let a breath of relief.

_'Good job, Cullen. Just keep it steady…'_

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She paused and opened her eyes, turning her head so she was looking at me. After a moment of staring at me, she closed her eyes again, snuggled harder against my chest, and took and even deeper breath.

"What are you doing?" I asked after she took her tenth breath, still leaning against me. Her eyes snapped open and she blushed stronger than I had ever seen, the smell concentrating tightly from her face.

She slowly leaned off of me and shrugged, as if nothing had happened.

"Nothin'," she muttered, looking down at the floor. I chuckled and lifted her chin so we were looking at each other again. I gave her my most crooked smile, attempting to 'dazzle' her. Her eyes glazed over as she looked at me, her breathing hitched.

"Is something wrong, _Bella_?" I whispered as I leaned down toward her ear. She shook her head slightly, and when she turned back, her nose grazed against my cheek. "Breathe, _Bella. _Breathe."

She let out a weak sigh, her lips inches from my face. Suddenly, I just wanted to suck her blood. I jumped back from the bed, closing my eyes and letting all the air out of my lungs. She followed my movements with her eyes a minute after I had moved, her reaction time slowed by her previously dazzled mind.

"Uh… I'm sorry, Edward, I didn't mean to…" she trailed off, looking down at the floor in shame. After a few moments of getting used to the smell, I relaxed and walked back towards her. I knelt in front of her and took her small hand in my own. She lifted her gaze from her lap to my face and frowned. "I really am sorry; I didn't know what I was doing, I swear. Don't leave, just please, don't leave!" she said the words quickly; her voice frantic and worried, and I could see her tears building.

I smiled and brushed my fingers up and down her arm, leaving goose bumps wherever I touched. I wondered why she always assumed _she_ did something wrong.

"No, _Bella_, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come that close to you, and I shouldn't have put you in such a situation. You did nothing wrong," I whispered, still brushing her arms with my fingers. She seemed to relax under my touch so I continued. I stood and picked her up in my arms. _Bella_'s eyes shot open, shocked yet pleased. I simply smiled brighter, ecstatic I had this effect on her. She cuddled her body closer to mine, as if trying to fight the electrons keeping us physically apart. There were no words to describe my smile or state of mentality now. 'Cloud mind' came to mind, but it did no justice to the true feeling.

I moved to the side of her bed and, holding her tightly with one arm, opened her covers. Laying her down, she made a small cry in protest. I chuckled as I tucked her in and lay down by her. She stopped her pouting and smiled.

I didn't touch her, simply laying a couple of inches away. She noticed this and shuffled over to my side. She grabbed my arm and put it around her, putting one of her own arms onto my chest and the other onto my side. I laughed, a little too loudly, with a certain nervous edge to my sound. She smirked, realizing she had her own effect on me, I was sure. After a minute, she began to move.

She patted each side of my chest a couple of times, and then moved her hand down to my stomach, repeating the tapping. I raised my eyebrows as she continued to move back and forth from my stomach to each side of my chest, patting along the way.

She paused that hand for a moment, running her other hand up and down my side. She giggled a little before she stopped and used her other arm once more to continue her previous patting.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused by her actions. She blushed and shrugged, defiantly closing her eyes and continuing her patting. I stared at her for a bit as she sustained her actions: patting and moving, moving and patting, until she stopped. She smiled, content and pleased with… I wasn't quite sure what she was happy about.

"Edward?" she said my name slowly, as if playing with the different ways to enunciate it. She repeated it several more times, always trying to say it differently, before allowing me to speak.

"Yes, _Bella_?" I responded. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Hey, why aren't _you_ asleep?" she asked, her head cocked to the side. I laughed once more.

"I don't sleep," I replied, smiling. Her head cocked further to the side.

"What do you mean?" she raised, though I shook my head in response.

"Goodnight, _Bella_, you have a… fun day ahead of you tomorrow," I teased, knowing she would wake up with a dreadful cold. I would be here, though, and I would make sure all her needs were met. She opened her mouth to reply but seemed to think better of it. Closing her eyes, she grabbed onto me harder and pulled herself closer.

"Will you stay?" she whispered as her voice grew softer.

"If you want me to…" I trailed off. _'Heck, I'd stay even if you didn't want me to… you just wouldn't know.'_

"I… want… you… Edward…" she murmured as she drifted off to sleep.

If she weren't lying so close, I would have jumped up and pumped my fist in the air victoriously. It may have been a slip of the words "to" and "stay." It may have been unintentional. It may have been nothing.

Or… it may have been the truth.

_Bella Swan_ wanted Edward Cullen?

~*~

After she had fallen asleep, Bella wouldn't let go. I chuckled as she held onto me, as if clinging to a lifeboat. Ever so slowly, I lifted her arms and laid them by her side. She made a small whimpering sound, but I needed to go and get some things for the rest of the day.

I rushed out her window at top speed, running as fast as I could to Port Angeles. I arrived shortly after in front of a 24-hour market. Entering, I walked down the aisles and gathered the necessary items.

After a few more minutes, I grabbed my cart and shuffled to the check-out area. When I reached them, I noticed a dark, spiky-haired girl sitting at the bench opposite the registers. I paid for the items and grabbed the bags, walking over to Alice.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes as I heard her mind once again hiding something from me.

"I figured you'd enjoy some help taking those bags back to Bella's. You know, _you_ can move quickly and withstand it with a single bag, but the air will knock the other bags out of your hand easily," she winked as she stood and grabbed two of the bags, leaving me with two of my own.

I shook my head and walked toward the door. She followed behind, smirking. We didn't speak to each other anymore; instead, as soon as we left the store and walked to the darker part of the parking lot, we rushed back to Forks, heading toward _Bella_'s home.

When we arrived, Alice handed me the two bags and smiled.

"Can I come over tomorrow," she asked. Only it didn't sound like a question. I glared at her which only earned me a grin. Twinkling with laughter, she turned and ran off into the forest bordering _Bella_'s home. I sighed and ascended the tree, entering her window.

_Bella_ was muttering something under her breath. She looked slightly unsettled and I wondered whether she was having one of her nightmares. I settled the bags in her closet, to hide them should her father enter the room in the morning, before I walked over to her bed and lay down next to her.

As soon as I was by her, she swung her leg over my waist and clung to my shirt. I wanted to wake her from whatever nightmare she was having, and just as I was about to, she spoke more clearly this time.

"Save me from the monster ice-cream, Edward!" she mumbled. I froze. She… had nightmares about monster desserts?

"Um… it's alright, _Bella_," I whispered into her ear. She stopped fidgeting and let her hands unclench from my t-shirt. Instead, she began to rub her hands up and down my chest and stomach again.

"I love you, Edward," she whispered back.

And just then, I knew what all these feelings really were. It made perfect sense. Now, I only had to say it. To confirm. To prove it true.

"I… love you, too, _Bella_."

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **LAWL. Fondling. It's funny. She's so weird. And Edward is so clueless. I love it. Be warned: next chapter is _very_ cheesy. Like, really. All my fault, too. *sigh*

**TRDancer: **Monster ice cream. Classic. Ice cream can be scary, guys. It's all cold and... creamy. :P Review!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_BPOV_

I opened my eyes, immediately wanting to close them against the glaring light. My head was pounding. I sat up and turned to where Edward had been lying when I had fallen asleep. He wasn't there, and I patted the place forlornly. I coughed. It seemed I had caught a wretched cold during the night. Of all the things that could happen, one that would prevent me from attending school and seeing Edward all day had to actually occur.

I turned my gaze to the rocking chair, where I assumed he'd be sitting, watching me. He wasn't there. He had left me. I felt my eyes fill with involuntary tears as I stared at the place where Edward should be.

"_Bella_?" a voice in the door laughed and I snapped my head over to the source. Edward was standing in the doorway. I felt my face turn up in a smile before I broke out in a coughing fit. He ran over to me and picked me up. I cuddled closer to him, relishing in the safety.

"Happy to see me?" he laughed again as I nodded my head.

"A little," I muttered, closing my eyes to block out the lights and leaning head into Edward. He started to walk somewhere and I peeked out from under my lashes to see that we were in the bathroom. I opened my eyes and felt my face flush yet again.

"Um, I just ran the bath for you, and also turned on the shower. You should go take the shower first, keeping your face in the water for as long as possible. It will help clear your sinuses. Then, enter the bath and soak for a few minutes. There's liquid decongestion in there, which will further aid with the stuffiness. After that, dry yourself off really well and put on the robe. I'll be waiting outside for you," I sighed in relief when he said he'd be waiting outside. I wasn't doomed to a day without Edward.

I managed a thank you when he set me on the floor; but as soon as I spotted the robe I stopped him.

"What is this?" I asked him, grabbing it off the hook and holding it in front of him.

"It's… a robe?" he asked in return. I almost rolled my eyes, but suppressed the urge, and furrowed my eyebrows instead.

"Yeah… but whose robe is it?"

"Yours?"

"No…" I didn't own a bathrobe; I was positive.

"Yes…"

"Edward, this isn't my robe," I snapped, hanging it back up and crossing my arms. He was explaining this to me, whether he liked it or not.

"I bought it for you," he admitted.

"You _what_?" I yelled. He came over to me and brushed some of my hair off of my face, smiling. I felt myself become dazzled. Damn him.

"I noticed you didn't have one. I bought it for you. Will you please wear it?" he whispered. I nodded as he left the room.

I stepped into the shower, enjoying the feel of the water on my face.

"Stupid dazzling boy, telling me to wear a robe he bought me; buying me gifts and dazzling me into accepting them... unfair, just unfair..." I mumbled to myself as I washed my hair. More like _unbelievable_.

I stood in the shower until it turned a bit colder than the scorching hot it had been, and then I got in the tub, every once and a while cursing God out loud for inventing such dazzling and devilish boys. Then I wondered if I should curse the Devil for getting to Edward and making him that way.

After what I deemed _'__long enough__'_ in my mind, I got out and grudgingly put on the robe Edward had bought me. I opened the bathroom door and stepped out onto the carpet, looking at my feet.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Don't say that, I already told you not to," I reminded him, looking up. He smiled and jumped at me, scooping me up in his arms. I laughed.

"Edward! I can walk!" I berated him, hitting his chest playfully with my fists. He chuckled at me and continued down the stairs. When he reached the living room, I looked around, surveying the differences. There were blankets on the couch and various foods laid out on the table, as well as a few movies.

"What is all this?" I asked.

"I bought some more stuff for you. I knew you'd be sick..." he set me down on the couch and I pouted, crossing my arms.

"You can't just go and buy me stuff, Edward," I hissed. My patience was being tested this morning. I hated gifts.

"Why not?"

"Because… you know… people will start to think things…" I mumbled, looking down. Yeah, they would wonder why the hell Edward Cullen was buying the girl who didn't speak a word things.

"Like what?"

"Like… you know… you like me or something," I stared at my hands, playing with my fingers.

"And you don't think I like you?" he asked, obviously baffled.

"Well… I dunno…"

"_Bella_?" He knelt beside me and took my hand. I looked at him and frowned. "What if I said I _do_ like you?"

"I'd say you're lying and being a jerk," I insisted, but I couldn't keep myself from smiling a little.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. I nodded and tried to get up, but he pressed down on my shoulders, forcing me to sit; shaking his head. "No, stay here. I'll be right back. Munch on some of these snacks. They'll be okay for your throat."

"Mmm," I hummed, scanning the snacks and grabbing a fruit bar as he went into the kitchen. It was quite nice to be taken care of by my stalker, even if he did have that annoying tendency to buy me things and then dazzle me into accepting them. He returned with soup and I smiled at him when he gave it to me.

"Now, what movie do you want to watch?" he asked me, picking some DVDs up off the table and handing them to me. I shuffled through them. Pride and Prejudice, action movie, comedy, romantic comedy... I paused on Romeo and Juliet and he grabbed it from my hands, putting it in with a smirk and sitting down on the recliner. I watched him, dismayed, as I finished eating my soup. I leaned back on the couch and pouted, crossing my arms.

"_Is there a reason you're sitting over there? I thought you liked me," _I thought-projected at him. He laughed and sat beside me. I cuddled into him and we watched the movie in silence. Every once and a while I shuffled closer, trying to obliterate any space between us. By the end, I was pretty much sitting in his lap, his arms around me and chin on my shoulder.

"Bella...?" he asked as the ending credits for the movie were rolling. I leaned my head away from him and looked up.

"Yeah?"

"I… I think we need to talk…" he said, and I panicked. I didn't have a story ready; it wasn't supposed to be this soon. I felt my face pale and I frowned.

_EPOV_

I sat in the rocking chair, watching her sleep. I could slowly see her catching something, the virus already in her system. Her heart beat fluttered and her skin turned a little more pale than usual. She had more prominent bags under her eyes and I could hear her breathing muffled by the mucous building up in her throat and nose.

Her father had come in and checked on her. Seeing her condition, he wrote a note and left it by her side. I waited in the closet until he left, driving the cruiser down to the police station.

Chuckling, I exited the closet and took the bags with me. I rushed downstairs to prepare everything.

First stop: the kitchen. I unloaded all the cans of soup and other snacks I bought for _Bella_. I put the medicines I bought for her in a small baggie and latched it to my jeans.

From there, I went back upstairs and gathered some extra blankets from the linen closet. Downstairs was much warmer than her room, but some more blankets wouldn't hurt. I walked back down and put the pillows onto the couch, laying the blankets at the foot of it to wrap around her later. I placed a few of the movies I bought on top of the TV. I had checked her collection of books and gathered she was a classics fan, so I had bought a copy of Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice, as I hadn't seen any films earlier. I also bought a handful of other movies, ranging from action to romance films.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I took it out and checked it to see that I had received a text message.

**-She gets up in 6 minutes. Go turn on her shower and make sure everything else is set up. I love you =).-**

I chuckled, quickly replying and thanking Alice, before I walked back to the kitchen and brought the snacks out to the living room. I dragged a table over and set them all there, returning to the kitchen and prepping the soup. I poured it into a bowl and placed that inside the microwave, ready to be heated as soon as she was hungry.

I ran back upstairs to the bathroom, taking along the robe I had bought for her. I opened her bathroom door and stepped in. I went to her bath first, opening the tap and letting the water flow freely. I took a bottle of bubble decongestion out of the bag and poured it in. After allowing the bath to fill, I shut it off and moved to her shower. Flipping the valve, I turned the knob until it the water came out at the hottest bearable temperature.

I hung the robe on the hook and rushed back to _Bella_'s room as I heard her stir. I stood in the doorway and watched her wake.

She sat up, her eyes puffy and groggy. She looked over to her side, where I had been laying earlier. She patted it and coughed loudly. She turned her head to the corner of the room, where the rocking chair was. She sat forward and kept staring there, not bothering to look over to me by the door.

I could see her eyes fill with tears, though it may have been them watering because of her sickness… however, I was not one to take a chance.

"_Bella_?" I chuckled, walking into the room. Her head snapped over to me. Her frown disappeared and was replaced by a bright smile. Then she began to cough violently. I rushed to her side and picked her up in my arms.

Once again, she didn't try to fight my actions, but rather snuggled closer to my chest.

"Happy to see me?" I teased, laughing as she nodded her head.

"A little," she mumbled, closing her eyes and laying her head against me. I walked her out her room and she perked up a little, wondering where I was going. I smiled at her as I entered the bathroom. Her blush grew tenfold and I suddenly understood why.

"Um, I just ran the bath for you, and also turned on the shower. You should go take the shower first, keeping your face in the water for as long as possible. It will help clear your sinuses. Then, enter the bath and soak for a few minutes. There's liquid decongestion in there, which will further aid with the stuffiness. After that, dry yourself off really well and put on the robe. I'll be waiting outside for you," I quickly explained everything to her, and she let out a breath of relief when I told her I'd be waiting outside.

She mumbled a thanks as I set her on the floor. She took one glance at the robe and stopped me.

"What is this?" she asked, grabbing it and holding it in front of me.

"It's… a robe?" I responded with a question of my own. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah… but whose robe is it?"

"Yours?"

"No…"

"Yes…"

"Edward, this isn't my robe," she retorted, hanging it back up and crossing her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"I bought it for you," I told her. Her eyes widened, but the crease in her brow grew as well.

"You _what_?" she seethed. Why was she so upset? I walked closer to her and brushed her hair away from her face. Her breathing snagged and I smiled, attempting to dazzle her.

"I noticed you didn't have one. I bought it for you. Will you please wear it?" I cooed, whispering it to her. She didn't seem to really hear me, but nodded as I turned around and walked out, closing the door behind me.

I waited, leaning against the wall, as she mumbled to herself in the bathroom. Her words were gargled by the water, so I couldn't make out anything she said. After thirty minutes, she stepped out, her skin looking red from the heated water and her throat and nose clearer, easy to see. I grinned as I saw her wearing the robe I bought.

She looked down and dug her toe into the carpet. Her blush reddened as she leaned against the door, opposite of me.

"You look beautiful," I whispered, knowing full well she'd blush more. And I was right. _'At least she reacts correctly that way…'_

"Don't say that, I already told you not to," she muttered, looking up at me. I smiled and jumped at her. She shrieked in laughter as I picked her up again.

"Edward! I can walk!" she laughed, playfully hitting my chest with her fists. I chuckled and walked down the stairs. I reached the living room and her eyes widened.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"I bought some more stuff for you. I knew you'd be sick…" I trailed off as I put her on the couch. She pouted and crossed her arms.

"You can't just go and buy me stuff, Edward," she hissed. I shook my head and smiled.

"Why not?"

"Because… you know… people will start to think things…" she muttered, looking down at her hands.

"Like what?"

"Like… you know… you like me or something," she said while playing with her fingers.

"And you don't think I like you?" I clarified, wondering if I could have been any clearer.

"Well… I dunno…"

"_Bella_?" I knelt beside her and took her hand in my own. She looked over to me and frowned. "What if I said I _do_ like you?"

"I'd say you're lying and being a jerk," she tried to keep her voice clear, but I could see her lips twitching up in a smile.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, changing the subject. She smiled and nodded. Trying to get up, she grew frustrated when I held onto her shoulders and shook my head. "No, stay here. I'll be right back. Munch on some of these snacks. They'll be okay for your throat."

"Mmm," she smiled and grabbed a fruit bar. I left her behind, going into the kitchen and starting the microwave. After the soup warmed, I took it to her and smiled brightly as she accepted it gladly.

"Now, what movie do you want to watch?" I asked, grabbing the DVDs and handing them to her. She put down the soup and shifted through them. She looked at Romeo and Juliet the longest, so I grabbed it from her hand with a smirk and put it in. I went and sat on the recliner again, hoping she'd lie down on the couch. Instead, she finished the soup, sat back, and pouted. I raised my eyebrows at her as she continued to pout.

"_Is there a reason you're sitting over there? I thought you liked me,"_ she thought, and I could hear the teasing tone behind it. I chuckled and shot to her side. Sitting down on the end of the couch, I let her lay against me, her side against mine as her head rested on my chest. We watched the movie in silence, it not coming even close to being uncomfortable. She scouted as close as she could every so often, trying to cut any distance between us. Near the end of the film, she was sitting on my lap, leaning back against me. I had my arms around her waist, my chin resting on her shoulder.

It was amazing how easily we became comfortable in each other's presence. She didn't mind my cold or hard skin—in fact, with her constant touching, I think she rather enjoyed it. She didn't mind the silences, but kept amused with simply being with me.

I could say the same for me. The silences were nothing to me. It was actually a relief, in a way, to not hear her constant thoughts. It was… normal. Her warm skin and scent no longer bothered me either.

And then it hit me.

I was a vampire. She was a human. And she was _not_ becoming a vampire.

"Bella…?" I said as the movie ended. She lifted her head to meet mine and smiled.

"Yeah?"

"I… I think we need to talk…" I trailed off again. Her face paled and she frowned, suddenly looking frantic.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **See, what did I say? Cheesy. :D

**TRDancer: **But it was cute. :P

Leon recently posted a one-shot, "Affair in Training", for the **Forbidden Love** contest, and he'll love you forever and ever if you go read it and vote for it.

http://www . fanfiction . net/u/1767203/goldentemptress# to vote.

http://www . fanfiction . net/s/5028543/1/ to read the story.

Don't forget to take out the spaces! And don't forget to click the review button below before you run away!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_BPOV_

I jumped up, calculating in my head the best way to avoid the conversation, and held my hands up.

"Look, I can explain... I'm not, it's not what you think, I just, I can't, I mean," I stumbled over my words, unable to choose the correct ones. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back into his lap. I grabbed a hold of his shirt, muttering apologies, trying to distract him.

"Bella, why are you upset? What's wrong?" he asked, wrapping his arms and holding me closer.

"You're going to say I'm acting all wrong, and then leave, and I know it shouldn't bother me this much, but it does, and I don't want you to go," I hiccupped out my words as he rubbed my back.

"No, not at all!" He almost screamed in my ear. "Bella, please, stop thinking that you did something wrong. I'm not going anywhere. Aren't I here with you instead of at school?"

I nodded and hiccupped again.

"Aren't I holding you right now?"

I nodded harder and hiccupped again. _'__Annoying hiccups...__'_

"And haven't I told you that you did nothing wrong before?"

I hesitated before nodding. In the outline of the plan I had; I did do something wrong. Why should I bother not telling Edward? He would just berate and dazzle me until I gave in. It was better to do it with a clear head, even if my story wasn't fully formed.

"Bella… is there something you want to tell me?" There it was; a final proposition. I only had to decide. I leaned back from him a bit, staring into his eyes. He smiled slightly, and I was dazzled. _'__Won__'__t hurt anything to tell him just a bit...__'_ my dazzled mind decided against my will.

"Well, um, I guess... you can't tell anyone else though, swear to me that you won't?" I slid off his lap and onto the couch, still hovering close, but far enough away that I could think properly.

"I swear," he said solemnly, and I almost laughed, but managed to keep my worried expression plastered on my face.

"Okay, well, when I lived in Phoenix, there was this exclusive all-girl club that everyone wanted to be part of. They invited me to be part of it and I jumped at the chance," I stared at the ceiling, collecting my thoughts. I returned my gaze to Edward and allowed it to turn stony. "They weren't really a club though; they were more of a cult. The girls in the club forced me to do all sorts of things I didn't want to, but I stayed because they threatened to tell my mom what I had already done."

I gauged Edward's reaction carefully. He looked horrified, thoughtful, and then curious.

"What did those girls make you do?" he asked me. I widened my eyes. I hadn't exactly planned that part yet.

"They... um, well, see, it's hard to talk about..." I evaded the question, watching the curiosity on his face grow. _'__Oh, no, he__'__s going to do his Jedi mind dazzling thing, and then I will make an idiot of myself, saying something that makes no sense at all.__'_

"You can tell me anything, _Bella._ I'm here for you," he ran his hand up and down my arm, plainly trying to comfort me. I sighed and looked at the ceiling as though it held all the answers. If it did, it didn't choose to divulge them to me, and I went back to looking at Edward. He smiled—again—and I steeled myself. _'__No Jedi mind thing, no Jedi mind thing,__'_ I chanted in my head. It seemed to work.

"But still..." I took a deep breath. "They had these rituals... and we'd all stand in a circle thing, and they'd say these weird prayers... and then they'd... we would all have to what they called 'donate blood' to the 'saviour'..." I trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say.

Then I realized a flaw in my story. I didn't have any scars. It seemed some part of his stupid Jedi thing had worked, because I had most definitely said something stupid. _'__Maybe it__'__s just me.__'_ I tugged the sleeves of my robe down farther, hoping he hadn't noticed, or would assume they were somewhere else. _'__Ha, that works! We sliced open our...something you won__'__t see...our stomachs? Stupid, but whatever. Solves my problem if he brings it up.__'_

"Oh..." he said, apparently at a loss for words. Lucky for him, the doorbell rang and I jumped up from the couch, eager to get away from the situation, even if it was just for some random Jehovah's Witnesses or salespeople that I was going to tell to go away anyhow.

I opened the door to see none other than Edward's pixie- like sister, Alice. What was _she _doing here? Was there not still school going on?

"Hi!" she chirped, brushing past me to enter the house. I shrieked and jumped back a little too forcefully, tripping over my own feet and bashing my head on the dining room table.

My vision swam and then turned black.

_EPOV_

_Bella_ jumped to her feet and held her hands out.

"Look, I can explain, it's not what you think. I'm just, I just, I can't, like, I mean," she stuttered to get her words out. Frantic was not the correct word. Hysterical was more accurate.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her down, back to my lap. She was sobbing and holding onto my shirt, muttering apologies. I put my arms around her and held onto her tightly.

"_Bella_, why are you upset? What's wrong?" I asked.

"You're going to say I did something wrong and then leave, and I know it shouldn't bother me this much, but it does, and I don't want you to go," she hiccupped through her words, calming down a little as I rubbed her back soothingly.

"No, not at all!" I almost screamed, trying my best to pacify her. "_Bella_, please, stop thinking that you did something wrong. I'm not going anywhere. Aren't I here with you instead of at school?"

She gave a weak nod and hiccupped again.

"Aren't I holding you right now?"

Another nod and hiccup.

"And haven't I told you that you did nothing wrong before?"

A more hesitant nod and hiccup. Why did she hesitate? Did she do something wrong? That couldn't be it—she had done nothing of the sort; she had only been here for a few days. Rather, I did something wrong. I fell in love with a human. There was great risk, but she was much too shocked and worried at the moment. We'd discuss that later. For now, I wanted to know why she was so upset.  
"_Bella_… is there something you want to tell me?"

She stopped her sobbing and leaned back, staring at me. I smiled, trying my best to keep her calm. She went into her 'dazzled' mode, staring at me like I was a shiny toy. I almost laughed, but held it back. She slid off of my lap and sat an inch away. Her gaze didn't leave mine though.

"Well, um, I guess... you can't tell anyone else though, swear to me that you won't?"

"I swear," I promised sincerely. What could have been this tragic?

"Okay, well, when I lived in Phoenix, there was this exclusive all-girl club that everyone wanted to be part of. They invited me to be part of it and I jumped at the chance," she stole a glance at the ceiling, probably to control her thoughts and think this through. I could already tell it was something serious. She returned to looking at me, her face hard and agitated. "They weren't really a club though; they were more of a cult. The girls in the club forced me to do all sorts of things I didn't want to, but I stayed because they threatened to tell my mom what I had already done."

What? A cult? A cult made _my Bella_ do things? A cult threatened _my Bella_? A cult ruined _my Bella_?

Of course, she wasn't really _mine_… though her affection toward me was different than anyone else in school. She was visibly more comfortable around me—having accepted me into her life, granted in a small way, so quickly. She allowed—or rather, begged—me to stay the night. And she _was_ sitting here now, bearing her broken soul.

But what was so haunting as to hurt her like this? She was horrified and incensed at school, shrieking at the top of her lungs and bawling her eyes out.

"What did those girls make you do?" I asked cautiously. Her eyes widened and I was afraid that I had gone too far. _'Damn it, Edward; don't push her. You're already in too deep.'_

"They... um, well, see, it's hard to talk about..."

When she answered, I noticed she didn't say she didn't _want_ to talk about it. Maybe this was what she needed, to let it all out. I had studied psychology and psychiatry; this would have been no different. However, I was in love with her. It biased my opinions strongly… but what else could I do?

I knew that I was attracted to her for a reason. When a vampire finds their mate, it's an instantaneous change in belief and attitude… but to fall for a human… and one so broken as _Bella_. Maybe I was supposed to be her protector.

"You can tell me anything, _Bella._ I'm here for you," I rubbed her arms, chafing the skin to allow for some frictional heat. It was the best I could do without evading too much. Maybe I wasn't _in love _with _Bella…_ maybe I simply loved her, as I did with my siblings.

No, the bond I felt with her was different and tenfold in strength.

She sighed, looking at the ceiling once more. Humans did this to clear their mind and organize their thoughts. Was there so much that she had experienced? Looking back at me, her face hardened once more. I smiled, trying to break down her barriers.

"But still..." She took a deep breath. "They had these rituals... and we'd all stand in a circle thing, and they'd say these weird prayers... and then they'd... we would all have to what they called 'donate blood' to the 'saviour'..." she whispered the final words, her eyes looking distant.

"Oh..." I replied. Speaking about her blood was _not_ open territory at the moment. I would make no move on that. I sat and watched her as she fidgeted with her robe, most probably uncomfortable with the topic. I was as well, so it was understandable.

Just then, I heard dainty footsteps make their way up _Bella_'s entrance and the doorbell ring. _Bella_ jumped out of the chair, leaving me to my thoughts.

A loud shriek and clash snapped me out of my daze and I rushed to the entryway. Standing over _Bella_'s body was Alice, eyes wide and confused at the unconscious beauty on the floor.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **So it was Alice who killed Bella in the foyer with the dining room table! I knew it! What do I get for winning this round of Clue? A review you say? Wonderful!

Ugh, we've almost caught up. Damn. I enjoyed having this all written.

**TRDancer:** Yes, sucks, doesn't it Leon? (TWSS) That's what I thought.

Hope the talk went down (TWSS) the way you wanted it to! (I seriously doubt it did (TWSS). I mean, did anyone predict Alice showing up?)

Review! (I'm in a pervy mood, can you tell?)


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_BPOV_

I opened my eyes to see Edward hanging over me and Alice hovering behind him looking horrified. What had happened? '_Oh.__'_ I had staged a breakdown when Alice touched me, but fallen and hit my head instead. I grimaced and sat up slowly. How had I gotten on the couch?

"_Bella_? Are you okay?" Edward asked, grabbing my hand. I opened my mouth to respond, but then glanced at Alice, tensing up and clenching Edward's hand. I had to make the story believable enough that he wouldn't leave me.

"I'm so sorry, Bella, I didn't know that I would frighten you!" Alice moved so that she was standing next to Edward, her horrified expression turned to worry. I stared at her for a moment and then looked at my lap. I couldn't talk in front of her; it went way against the rules of my game.

"_Bella_? _Bella_? What's wrong?" Edward's voice increased with panic and I pulled him closer to me, breathing in his forest-like scent. I shook my head into his chest, coughing my lungs out.

"You can talk to Alice, _Bella_," Edward crooned in my ear. "She won't hurt you." I half nodded, half shook my head. The movement set off another violent coughing attack. He leaned back a bit, and I saw that Alice was holding out a bag to him.

"I bought her decent pajamas to replace that robe," Alice said. Her half worried, half hurt expression set me off into sobs. I pulled Edward back towards me as he grabbed the bag.

"_Bella_, go change. I'm going to talk to Alice for a second," he looked at me for approval, and by way of answer I snatched the bag from him and headed upstairs to change. He smiled as I did so and then turned to Alice.

I quickly changed into the pajamas Alice had bought me—what was it with Cullens _buying_ me things?—which were a deep blue tank top and blue plaid sweats. They were a lot comfier than the robe, I had to admit. I grabbed my hoodie from my room to cover my arms.

I studied my face in the bathroom mirror, splashing my face with water. I looked absolutely exhausted. I grimaced slightly and headed back down the stairs.

In the living room, Edward was sitting on the couch looking thoughtful, Alice nowhere in sight. I slid onto his lap.

"Hi, Edward. What are you thinking about?" I asked quietly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He smiled and replied.

"Monstrous ice-cream cones," he raised his eyebrows at me and I returned the favour.

"Monstrous ice-cream cones? Are you having a craving, Edward?" I joked, looking around for Alice.

"Well, I was wondering if you dream about monster ice-cream every night, or if last night was unique." I stared at him, confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Last night, you were talking in your sleep. You asked me to save you from the monster ice-cream," he said matter-of-factly. I cringed and pulled back from him, moving onto the couch. _'__Stupid sleep-talking.__' _I started to shake my head vehemently.

"That's not what I usually dream about. I usually dream about... them," I dropped to an almost inaudible volume at the end, but he seemed to still understand.

"So why didn't you last night?" he asked quizzically. I mused over it and then had an inspiration. A way to get Edward in my bed every night was presenting itself.

"Maybe it's because you were here that I didn't have any real nightmares," I whispered. He seemed to look thoughtful. "So... want to come every night?" He blinked.

"Uh... if you want me here, I guess," he said hesitantly. I grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer on a whim. I leaned close to his ear and whispered in it.

"I'll always want you, Edward," I breathed. His breathing hitched and I smiled triumphantly. I was totally doing some dazzling of my own. I pulled back a bit to let him recover and then asked him where Alice had gone.

Just then, Alice swept into the room, nonchalantly sitting down in the recliner. She looked at us, and then away, hurt expression still on her face. Edward leaned close to me and whispered in my ear.

"You can trust her, _Bella_. Really." I swallowed, trying to resolve my issue. If I talked to Alice, Edward might start to doubt my story. If he found out, he would leave me, and then I _would_ be completely broken.

I hated to admit that he was probably interested in me because I appeared broken, special, different. I was unique now, and exciting, possibly appealing to those who wanted to figure me out. If he were to ever find out this was all a ruse, I'd be alone. And, for some reason, the thought of being away from Edward actually made my stomach clench in pain.

Then again, I considered as I stared at Edward's hopeful expression, he might see it as a good break-through, a way to my recovery.

"I brought this cough medicine from the kitchen. Bella sounded like she needed it," Alice said, gesturing at the table. That's what made me decide. I couldn't hurt the little pixie girl anymore. I turned to her.

"I'm really sorry, Alice," I said quietly. Her hurt expression immediately turned to a gigantic smile and Edward grinned at me as well.

I buried my face back into Edward's chest.

_'__This better not have been a mistake.__'_

_EPOV_

_Bella_ fell to the floor with a _thud_, and my strengthened vampire hearing only made the sound worse.

"Alice, what the hell did you do?" I ran past my sister and knelt beside _Bella_. I lifted her cautiously, checking the back of her head for any critical damage. She seemed to be well in order, everything still intact and working, her heart beat calming. I sighed, knowing she was alright.

"I swear, I didn't do anything! I just walked in, and I didn't see this happening either, I swear," Alice was quick to apologize and explain, her face and thoughts clouded with concern. Picking _Bella_ up in my arms, I nodded briskly at Alice, still upset.

"Edward, I don't know what happened, I just walked in and then suddenly she jumped back!" Alice was still explaining her situation, replaying the scene in her mind for me to see, as I walked into _Bella_'s living room and laid her on the couch.

Alice came up behind me and we stood, waiting for _Bella_ to open her eyes. My breathing hitched as she slowly moaned and her eyes fluttered open. She sat up slowly and let out another moan.

"_Bella_? Are you okay?" I asked, holding her small hand in mine, slowly rubbing my thumb along her knuckles. She seemed to brighten up but then looked past me, to Alice, and instantly froze up. Her fingers would have been digging into my flesh had I still been human.

"I'm so sorry, Bella, I didn't know that I would frighten you!" Alice nearly screamed, aghast and worried. She stooped to my side and _Bella_ simply watched her with scared eyes. Was she so scared? Was this what had set her off the other day? _Bella_ dropped her gaze and I felt her hand tremble against mine.

"_Bella_? _Bella_? What's wrong?" I demanded, but she only pulled me to her, placing her head against my chest and taking calming breaths. She let out a loud cough as she shook her head.

"You can talk to Alice, _Bella_," I whispered in my ear. "She won't hurt you." She seemed to be confused, not sure whether to agree or disagree with me, shaking and nodding her head simultaneously. She broke off into another coughing fit.

_'Edward, let her change into these, they should help keep her warm and sweat the cold out,' _Alice thought as I leaned back and took the bag from her.

"I bought her decent pajamas to replace that robe," she mumbled, clearly thinking about how she had already scared someone she had seen as a friend in her vision. I didn't have time to tell her to stop thinking about _that_ vision before _Bella_ grabbed me to her side.

"_Bella_, go change. I'm going to talk to Alice for a second," I held her and waited for her to do as I said. She seemed reluctant, but took the bag from me and left the room. I gave her a big smile and she returned it weakly while looking directly at me.

As soon as she left the room, I leapt up and growled quietly at Alice. "What are you doing here, Alice? And I swear, if you keep replaying that vision in your head…" I trailed off menacingly as she held up her hands in defeat.

"Stop it, Edward. We both know how my visions work—it's not like _I_ create the future. It's based on _your_ decisions… and _hers_. Did you ever think that maybe she'd want this life?" she glared defiantly back at me.

I took one step closer, and something in my expression must have scared her. She slowly paced back before shaking her head.

"Edward, I'm not going to bring it up anymore. But I _am_ going to become friends with Bella. I know we are meant to be friends, so don't even bother," her growl matched mine this time as she took her own step forward.

I grunted and turned, taking a seat as I waited for _Bella_. Alice had a quick vision of _Bella_ returning and coughing loudly once more. She left the room and waited in the kitchen for _Bella_ to resituate herself downstairs.

Within moments, I heard _Bella_ enter the room, though I kept my gaze forward as I thought of last night and _Bella_'s dream. She had said that she didn't sleep because she had nightmares--they kept her awake and she was afraid to fall asleep. However, last night, she dreamt about monstrous ice-cream… and asked me to defeat them.

_'And how would I have done that, anyway?'_ I mused to myself, _'Monstrous ice cream cones?'_

"Hi, Edward. What are you thinking about?" Her voice was so shy, so embarrassed, with a trace nervousness and hurt. She sat on my lap and I put my arms around her protectively.

"Monstrous ice-cream cones," I smiled and rose my eyebrows, gaining a smile from her.

"Monstrous ice-cream cones? Are you having a craving, Edward?" she laughed, glancing around the room.

_'Yes, but not for ice-cream. Ice-cream could never smell as sweet as your blood… or you.'_

"Well, I was wondering if you dream about monster ice-cream every night, or if last night was unique," I suggested, trying to gain some answers. She looked back at me, baffled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night, you were talking in your sleep. You asked me to save you from the monster ice-cream," I responded as formally as I could, trying to distract myself from thoughts of her other admission: _'I love you, Edward.' _

She reacted stronger than I thought, cringing and sitting away from me. She shook her head so aggressively, I thought she was going to strain herself.

"That's not what I usually dream about. I usually dream about... them," her speech was so low, I wouldn't have heard it had I been human. She breathed the words almost religiously, afraid to say them.

"So why didn't you last night?" I questioned, waiting her for to explain why last night's dreams had involved me and dairy treats.

"Maybe it's because you were here that I didn't have any real nightmares," she whispered. That seemed likely, from a psychological stand point. If she felt comfortable around me… and if she loved me… then my presence would have worked to sedate her. But knowing that didn't prepare me for what she said next: "So... want to come every night?"

"Uh... if you want me here, I guess," I said the words slowly, blinking with each one. She responded by grabbing onto my shirt and tugging. I followed her path, since a human would have been moved eventually. She leaned over and put her mouth by my ear.

"I'll always want you, Edward," she exhaled. I felt my breath catch in my throat and watched her as she pulled back, a small smile on her lips.

"Where did Alice go?" she asked after a moment, looking around once more.

Just then, Alice swept into the room, nonchalantly sitting down in the recliner. She looked at us, and then away, hurt expression still on her face. I felt horrible for my sister, even though I was still upset with her. I bent over and spoke quietly in _Bella_'s ear.

"You can trust her, _Bella_. Really." She visibly gulped and sat with her face giving away her thoughts. She seemed… fearful. Why was she so nervous around Alice, but not me? Other than the fact that she loved me… and with that, '_cue the smile.'_

"I brought this cough medicine from the kitchen. Bella sounded like she needed it," Alice motioned toward the side table and pointed at a small bottle.

"I'm really sorry, Alice," _Bella_ mumbled, and from that action, I was so proud and happy for her. Maybe this would help her. Maybe, with us in her life, she wouldn't be afraid anymore. She turned to me and I smiled brightly. I grabbed her and pulled her onto my lap as she buried her face into my chest.

"Don't worry, _Bella_. We're here for you," I cooed in her ear as I hugged her with fervor.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington: **I won the contest, I won the contest! I have nothing else to say today.

**TRDancer: **Leon obviously only has one track in his mind. I, however, have many tracks. I mean, I may be completely excited because my dance recital is tomorrw, but I still have the sense to say that this is a cute chapter. There's a review incentive for this one--an alternate BPOV. Just please note this has nothing to do with the story at all, it's just the crappiness before the dawn of this beautiful thing. So REVIEW, and I'll send you it. :D


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_BPOV_

I woke up with Edward lying beside me, my arms wrapped around him. I smiled and untangled my arms from him. His eyes opened and he looked at me, smiling. I coughed slightly.

"Good morning gorgeous," he whispered. "You slept well." I frowned. How did he know that? Had he not been sleeping himself?

"Weren't you sleeping?" I voiced my concern and he chuckled.

"I already told you that I don't sleep," he said. I shook my head slightly, still not understanding how that was possible. I got out of bed and grabbed some random clothes out of my closet. I turned to look at Edward.

"I'm going to get ready for school," I told him. "You don't mind, right?" He shook his head, smiling.

"I'm actually going to go get ready too," he said. "It might be kind of strange if I'm wearing the same clothes." I laughed and nodded, heading over to the bathroom as he disappeared through the window. I was going to turn around and tell him to use the door, for heaven's sakes, but he was already gone.

_"Use the door, Cullen!"_ I used my thought-projection for fun—just this once, I swore to myself—and I heard him laugh out in the yard.

I showered quickly and then brushed my hair thoroughly and viciously. I changed into the jeans and black T-shirt I had grabbed and studied my face in the mirror. I looked well-rested for once, but that was to be expected when sleeping next to Edward Cullen. My hair frizzed out from my head a bit too much for my liking, so I swept it up in a ponytail.

I headed back into my room to retrieve a sweater. I scanned the hoodie section of my closet, finally selecting a dark blue one. I looked pretty good in blue as proved by the pajamas Alice had bought me.

I picked up my backpack from the floor where I had dumped it the last time I went to school. I sneezed as I trotted down the stairs. I grabbed a Kleenex from a box at the foot of the stairs.

I went into the kitchen, contemplating options for breakfast. Eggs, cereal... I opened the cereal cupboard and spotted the Raisin Bran, immediately turning my thoughts back to Edward. Perfect Edward. He was the reason I was feeling so much better today, I was sure. He had stayed with me all day, even after Alice had left. He had only left me when Charlie came home, and then he was right back in the house the second Charlie was sleeping.

~*~

_Edward dropped in the window and I looked up at him smiling. He wrapped me up in a tight embrace, whispering in my ear. _

_"Are you ready to go to sleep, darling?" he crooned. I nodded into his shoulder and we lay down on the bed. I tensed up a bit._

_"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling back to look at me, worried. I smiled slightly and shook my head._

_"It's nothing. I'm just not used to sleeping so early," I put a slight nervous laugh into my answer. He pulled me closer to him._

_"It's okay, _Bella_. I'm here," he said softly. I relaxed into him and drifted off._

~*~

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a car horn. I peeked out the window to see Edward's silver Volvo parked in the street. _'Shit, no time to eat.'_ I snatched a leftover fruit bar from the day before and ran out to the car.

"Hey, Edward. Where are your siblings?" I asked through a mouthful of fruit, immediately noticing their absence. He chuckled at my antics as I got in and buckled up.

"They're taking Rosalie's car. I thought you might not want them all crowded around you. Plus, alone time with you is good," he flashed me a smile and my heart nearly stopped beating. My gaze slid to the odometer and I swear, my heart DID stop.

"Holy fuck, Edward. Slow down!" the car was going (_Leon enters some amazing speed in miles here) _in a (_something) _zone. He laughed but made no attempt to slow down.

"It's fine, _Bella_. I drive this speed all the time." I stared disbelievingly at him. He was insane. I knew it all along.

"You're going to get us killed! What if Charlie stops you on the road and sees me in here? He'll shoot you!" I continued to shriek at him. He frowned and slowed down a bit, going only 20 miles over the speed limit now. I relaxed a bit, guessing that was as good as I was going to get. I dropped my fruit bar in the garbage and yanked my iPod out of its pocket in my backpack, shoving it in my sweater pocket and looping the cords around my neck.

I yanked my hood up over my hair as we pulled into the school parking lot and parked next to a fire engine red convertible. I gaped at it a bit, just like the teenagers currently grouped around it. The Cullens—minus Edward of course—were getting out of it.

"_That's_ Rosalie's car? Why doesn't she drive it all the time?" I asked Edward. He shrugged.

"Ostentatious," he gestured to the people surrounding the car. I nodded thoughtfully.

"Why do you even own shiny cars like that then?" I wondered.

"We like to drive fast," he responded. I rolled my eyes. Typical.

***

The first stop of mine and Edward's day was the office, where Edward used his dazzling skills to get his schedule changed to be the exact same as mine, except for my third period Trig class and last period gym class, which were switched for him. I could tell the secretary—was her name Ms. Cope?—was giving me strange looks, but I continued to stare at the floor while she rearranged Edward's schedule.

We left the office, me clutching Edward's hand as he led me through the hallways. I sent him a projection, reminding him to avoid girls. I noted his imperceptible nod and breathed a sigh of relief. We slid into English just as the late bell rang and proceeded to sit through a deathly boring introduction lecture for the book we were going to be reading next. I, of course, had already read it. I contemplated asking Renee to send me my old essays, not for the first time.

Second period Government was no better. We were studying the civil war. I barely listened to the teacher's droning, instead entertaining myself with Jasper's expressions. He seemed aggravated with almost everything the teacher said. I made a mental note to myself to ask Edward why Jasper was so irritated.

When the bell for third period rang, Edward took my hand and escorted me to my Trig class, informing me he would be back to pick me up at the end of class. I nodded and braced myself for the whisperings that would occur without Edward around; sure my expression was pained.

Sure enough, I was unable to concentrate in the class I needed to work on the most because of all the talking. At one point, Jessica Stanley leaned over and asked to borrow a pen, coming dangerously close to touching me. I leaned away from her and grabbed a random pen from my bag, holding it by the end and offering it to her. She took it with a smirk and immediately started whispering to the girl on the other side of her. She had probably only bothered to ask me for a pen to see what I would do. I held back the swear on the tip of my tongue, fuming at Jessica for being so dense.

Edward picked me up at the end of Trigonometry as he had promised. We sat through Spanish and then, finally, the bell for lunch rang. _'Yes!'_ Some time to hide in the back corner of the cafeteria and avoid stares.

~*~

I watched Edward fill a tray full of food, not getting myself anything. He looked at me, disapproval apparent on his face. I shrugged, continuing to stare down at his tray. He paid for the food and led me across the cafeteria to our table. We sat down and he pushed his tray of food at me. I pushed it back to him. He pushed it back at me. I pushed it to him. We continued like this for a while, until he finally picked up the tray and slammed it down in front of me, smiling his face off. _"Obnoxious."_

"Eat, _Bella_," he insisted. I picked up a piece of pizza, but then hesitated.

_"Only if you do."_ He grimaced, then picked up an apple and took a bite, contorting his face in disgust. I heard laughter from across the cafeteria and looked over to see the rest of his family laughing at him, their own trays of food untouched. Emmett looked like he was almost in tears. It was his laugh I had heard, though the others were obviously laughing too. I scowled. What was wrong with food?

"Now you," he said, and I obliged, taking a bite of the pizza. He smiled at me and I felt myself become dazzled. I noticed him shoot a glare over at the Cullen's table, though. Obviously he didn't appreciate their laughter anymore than I did.

I studied his face while eating my pizza, not forcing him to eat anymore food. His eyes flitted around and it was only because I was watching so intently that I saw him turn his head slightly in the direction of the table where Jessica was sitting. I followed his gaze and frowned. Nothing seemed to be wrong... just a heated discussion.

I turned my attention to my iPod's wires, which were tangled up, making them annoying. I unplugged the earphones and busied myself untangling them. I was almost done when there was a resounding crash that made the table shake, accompanied by the screech of a chair on tile, and a huff from someone. I looked up curiously.

A thin girl with brown hair and brown eyes was sitting across from me, looking extremely annoyed. I knew I had seen her with Jessica, and most likely been introduced to her, but I couldn't remember her name.

"I've had enough of those bitches," the girl said, picking up her orange and viciously ripping off pieces of the peel and throwing them on her plate. She looked up at me and added, "I was trying to convince them that ignoring you is a dumb response to your "Emo Freak-out Attack", as they call it. But they just wouldn't _listen_. They're all too afraid of Jessica, and Jessica is just an idiot." I gaped at her. Beside me Edward looked like he was in shock. I hesitantly moved my chair a bit closer to him. The girl looked up from her now fully peeled orange and blanched, probably at my expression. "Oh, I'm sorry. You probably don't remember my name. I'm Angela."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled tentatively over at her. She rewarded me with a huge smile. I looked at Edward. He still had that shocked look on his face. I nudged him with my elbow, and when that didn't stir him, sent a teeny thought projection at him. _"Edward?"_

That got him. He looked over at Angela and smiled. "Hi, Angela. I'm Edward, as you probably know." Angela nodded. "So you really think Jessica is an idiot?" he asked. Angela nodded again, with more fervour.

"Oh, yeah, she's not just an idiot, she's a downright _bitch_. There's no reason for anyone to treat Bella like that at all. I'm sure there's a completely rational reason behind it," Angela said angrily. I saw Edward's look of shock briefly cross his face again before his cool composure returned.

"I agree completely, Angela," Edward said passionately. I smiled and nestled into him. Looking at Angela again, I noticed a look of intense concentration on her face as she stared at me. She popped an orange slice into her mouth and swallowed it before speaking directly to me.

"Um, Bella... I know that you don't really feel comfortable talking to anyone," here she looked at Edward for a moment before returning her gaze to me, "but I was wondering if you wanted to do something sometime. I was supposed to go dress shopping with Jessica on Sunday... but I'm pretty sure she won't want to now. Maybe we can go together? Even if you don't plan on going to prom," she added quickly.

I frowned. How was I supposed to answer that question? I didn't want to throw my cover away, and talking to Angela would definitely do that. Plus, being in close proximity to her for an entire day—afternoon, whatever—wasn't ideal either. But she seemed so genuinely _nice_ and protective of me. It really was a meaningful gesture that she'd walked away from Jessica. How could I say no? How could I say yes?

"She'll call you or talk to you tomorrow," Edward said. I pulled away from his side and looked at him curiously. He pulled me back towards him and whispered in my ear, "I'll explain later."

Angela looked happy enough with that and she stood just as the bell for next class rang. I sighed in relief and stood up too, holding hands with Edward. We headed in the direction of Biology class, my head racing with questions... and not one answer to them.

~*~

I winced as the birdie hit one of the girls Mike and I were playing doubles against in the head. I fiddled with my racket, looking over at the coach pleadingly. He shook his head at me. The coach was adamant that he would teach me to play badminton well if it was the last thing he did. And it damn well was going to be at this rate.

The blonde on the other team served toward me and I brandished my racket in the general direction the birdie was coming. Mike jumped out of the way of my antics, falling to the floor awkwardly and dropping his racket with a clatter. I winced again and walked over to him.

He stared up at me as I offered him a hand. After a moment of hesitation, he grasped it, and I helped him up. He attempted to put pressure on his ankle but whimpered and fell back into my arms. I staggered under his weight and was glad when the coach ran over and I was able to dump Mike's weight onto him.

I stepped back, shaking my arms out and ignoring whispers that were going around the gym. I thought I heard someone say that they thought I had a crush on Mike and I nearly fell down in a fit of laughter. As if I could fall for someone so... boring and _high school_. I just felt sorry that I was the cause of his injury and wanted to help him out. He was definitely nothing compared to Edward.

I glanced at the clock on the gym wall and decided to go change before there was a stampede in the changing room. I had thoughtfully shown up early for class as well to avoid being trapped in there with all those girls.

I quickly changed and got out of the locker room before the bell rang, darting out to the parking lot and leaning against the silver Volvo to wait for Edward. He was there in less than two minutes, before anyone else had even thought about entering the parking lot, I was sure.

He smiled crookedly at me as he opened the passenger door. I smiled back and slid into the seat. In a flash, he was in the driver's seat, pulling out of the parking lot. When we were on the road—going entirely too fast for my liking—Edward turned to me and said, "So, did you have a good day, Love?"

I marvelled slightly at the way he called me Love before answering. "It was fine. What was that with Angela?" He looked at me, smirking. I frowned.

"I heard your thoughts," he said. My frown turned into a scowl and his grin got bigger. "It wasn't that bad, I just heard when you said 'How can I say yes? How can I say no?'" he assured me. I kept scowling though. It wasn't fair of him to hear all my thoughts... though in this situation it had been helpful.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked him. He stared thoughtfully down the road in front of us.

"I think... that you should go shopping with her Sunday," he said, nodding to himself. I wrinkled my eyebrows. _'He did?'_ Edward laughed. "Yes, I do."

The scowl was back on my face. "You weren't supposed to hear that," I told him. He looked mildly apologetic. I figured that was the best I'd get and switched gears. "Why were you so shocked when Angela came over?"

"Her mind is always so nice," he explained, "but today she was thinking such _mean _thoughts about Jessica and her cronies. She really cares about you, for some reason. I mean, she was _swearing_. Angela never swears." Edward shook his head in disbelief. "That's why I think you should go with her. I trust her."

That was good enough confirmation for me. "If you trust her, so do I," I said decisively, just as we pulled up in front of my house.

"Well... see you later?" I asked. He nodded, his face looking slightly amused. I briefly wondered why, and then decided that I would never understand Edward, and it was best not to try to.

"Bye, _Bella,_" he called after me. I closed the car door and headed up the driveway, considering meal ideas. I was in a good mood, and I especially like cooking when I'm in a good mood.

I opened the door with the key—newly positioned behind a bush near the house, thanks to Edward. I closed the door behind me and headed for the fridge, opening it to see... not very much. I needed to go grocery shopping. There was a brown paper bag that read "Harry Clearwater's Fish Fry" and... that was about it. I closed the fridge and opened the freezer. At least it was full. I took a closer look. Every single package in the freezer was fish. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed before. I sighed. I guess I knew what we were having for supper countless nights in a row... fish.

Yum.

_EPOV_

I heard _Bella_'s heartbeat speed up and her body stir. Her arms loosened and I opened my eyes to look at her. She coughed, blushing as I smiled at her.

"Good morning, gorgeous," I whispered. "You slept well."

"Weren't you sleeping?" she asked, worried and frowning. I almost laughed

"I already told you that I don't sleep," I chuckled. She seemed to shrug it off and get out of bed, going over to her closing and removing some clothes.

"I'm going to get ready for school," she mumbled, and her tinted cheeks intensified. "You don't mind, right?" I shook my head and replied..

"I'm actually going to go get ready too. It might be kind of strange if I'm wearing the same clothes." She laughed and nodded, leaving the bedroom as I dashed to the window and was out before she could see.

As I landed in the yard, _Bella_'s thoughts came rushing to my mind, _"__Use the door, Cullen!"_ I laughed, shaking my head slightly.

My run home was the quickest I had ever done, reaching the house in mere minutes. No one was home as I quickly showered and changed, hoping to get back to _Bella_ before running into anyone. As I grabbed my items to get ready for school, I mentally planned changing my schedule to _Bella_'s.

The run back was even quicker, my motivation striking. I took the Volvo, knowing I couldn't show up on foot again. My car came to a halt outside of _Bella_'s house and I honked to let her know I was here. As soon as she came out, I moved to open the door to her, ushering her in.

I entered the car right as her door closed and locked.

"Hey, Edward. Where are your siblings?" she mumbled, speaking as she chewed. I chucked and put the car into drive, setting off for school.

"They're taking Rosalie's car. I thought you might not want them all crowded around you. Plus, alone time with you is good." I smiled at her, widening it as I heard her heart beat skip. Suddenly, her heartbeat flared.

"Holy fuck, Edward. Slow down!" I laughed, knowing I already _was_ going slow - much slower than I normally did.

"It's fine, _Bella_. I drive this speed all the time." She looked at me as if I was crazy, but I rolled my eyes.

"You're going to get us killed! What if Charlie stops you on the road and sees me in here? He'll shoot you!" I furrowed my eyebrows as her the adrenaline in her body shot through her, fear evident. I slowed to 60, making sure she was breathing evenly.

We arrived at the school shortly, and I helped her out. I heard her gasp, and caught her looking at Rose's car.

"_That__'__s_ Rosalie's car? Why doesn't she drive it all the time?" I shrugged in reply.

"Ostentatious," I said, pointing to the people surrounding her car.

"Why do you even own shiny cars like that then?" she asked, tilting her head.

"We like to drive fast," I responded. I laughed as she rolled her eyes.

~*~

We made our way to the main office, where I talked Ms. Cope into rearranging my schedule. I was able to get into all her classes except for Trig and Gym, which were full at this point. Sighing, I nodded and we left the office together.

_Bella_ hung on my arm, warning me of the girls surrounding us. I cringed as I remembered what she had told me, the torture she must have endured. Shaking the thoughts off, I brought us to English right before the bell rang. The hour was spent glancing at _Bella_ and wondering what she was thinking. Second period Government continued in the same fashion, though I was able to guess _Bella_ was intrigued by the disgust on Jasper's face. When the bell for third period rang, I escorted her to Trig, letting her know I'd be back right away.

I watched her through the eyes of others, her interaction fleeting as Jessica spoke to her. I hissed lowly as I saw the plan in her damn mind, only intent on bothering and harassing _Bella_.

As soon as third was over, I was outside _Bella_'s class, glaring at Stanley as she walked out of the room. I smirked at her shudder. We walked over to Spanish and I watched _Bella_ and the clock interchangeably, hoping to get her to lunch so she could eat a proper meal.

If school lunches could be called proper, that was.

~*~

I grabbed any item I could, throwing it onto the tray. I quirked an eyebrow at _Bella_, knowing she wasn't going to bother purchasing anything. After paying for the food, I trudged her to table and sat her down. After playing pass-the-tray, I forced her to eat. She insisted I take a bite of an apple, much to the amusement of my family. I growled low enough for only them to hear as she munched on her pizza.

My head snapped toward Stanley's table as a hushed argument over _Bella_ began. I scowled at her damn form before smirking. Angela huffed and threw back her chair as she jumped up and walked over to us. I watched her as she huffed, sitting down.

"I've had enough of those bitches," Angela said, attacking her orange and mutilating it to relieve her stress. She peeked at _Bella_ and added, "I was trying to convince them that ignoring you is a dumb response to your 'Emo Freak-out Attack,' as they call it. But they just wouldn't _listen_. They're all too afraid of Jessica, and Jessica is just an idiot." We both stared at her in shock, _Bella_'s mouth falling open. She slowly inched toward me, but paused as Angela introduced herself.

I heard _Bella_ let out a breath and turned to see her smile. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to what was happening. Her thought-projection snapped me back to attention.

"Hi, Angela. I'm Edward, as you probably know." Angela nodded. "So you really think Jessica is an idiot?" I snickered. Angela nodded again, with more fervour.

"Oh, yeah, she's not just an idiot, she's a downright _bitch_. There's no reason for anyone to treat Bella like that at all. I'm sure there's a completely rational reason behind it," Angela said angrily. I lost my composure for a second again before

"I agree completely, Angela," I affirmed, smiling as _Bella_ snuggled closer to me. I watched as Angela ate another orange before addressing _Bella_.

"Um, Bella... I know that you don't really feel comfortable talking to anyone," here she looked at me for a moment before returning her gaze to _Bella_, "but I was wondering if you wanted to do something sometime. I was supposed to go dress shopping with Jessica on Friday... but I'm pretty sure she won't want to now. Maybe we can go together? Even if you don't plan on going to prom," she added quickly.

The silence remained only between them as I heard _Bella's_ thoughts running through her mind.

"She'll call you or talk to you tomorrow," I answered after a few moments of silence. _Bella_ pulled away from me and eyed me. I pulled her back towards me and whispered in her ear, "I'll explain later."

Angela looked happy enough with that and she stood just as the bell for next class rang. I grabbed _Bella_'s hand and walked her to Biology as the end of our day neared.

~*~

The rest of the day passed slowly as I waited until the final bell rang. I watched _Bella_ continuously, laughing as she hurt Mike - whether intentional or not.

"So, did you have a good day, Love?" I asked as soon as she was in the car and I was pulling out of the parking lot.

"It was fine. What was that with Angela?" she answered after a moment, a blush taking her face. I turned and smirked at her.

"I heard your thoughts," I said. She scowled as I grinned wider. "It wasn't that bad, I just heard when you said 'How can I say yes? How can I say no?'" I assured her.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, though I could still she was still upset. He stared thoughtfully down the road in front of us.

"I think... that you should go shopping with her tomorrow," I said, nodding as I realized I could watch over her and knowing this would be a chance for her to put her past behind her.

_'He did?__'_ she thought.

"Yes, I do," I laughed, remarking at her growing scowl.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," she muttered. I gave her my best apologetic look, without making it too intentional. "Why were you so shocked when Angela came over?"

"Her mind is always so nice," I explained, "but today she was thinking such _mean _thoughts about Jessica and her cronies. She really cares about you, for some reason. I mean, she was _swearing_. Angela never swears." I shook his head in disbelief. "That's why I think you should go with her. I trust her."

"If you trust her, so do I," Bella agreed, reminding me of a determined child, just as we pulled up in front of her house. "Well... see you later?" she asked. I nodded, grinning in delight at the future plans we held.

"Bye, _Bella,_" I called out as she closed the car door and headed up the driveway.

I laughed quietly to myself as I put the car into park and drove off to my house, ready to prepare to return tonight.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: Okay, I don't know how this hasn't been clear this entire time - this story is a _parody _of Twilight. Yes, Bella is OOC. DUH. Yes, Edward is OOC. DUH. Lord, people, how many times have we said that? We're _not_ writing Twilight anyway - and even if we were, _no one_ can write "in character" characters because we _are not Stephenie Meyer_.

Sorry it took so long for an update, my good friend Daddy's Little Cannibal passed away and I wasn't in the mood to write a fluffy story like this.

**TRDancer: **Anyways... who loves the length of this? I do! It's my longest chapter I've ever written, not including EPOV, of course.

Review, please!! :D


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_CPOV_

I stared at Bella. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. I mean, she was just so... _different,_ for lack of a better word.

All the times I had visited with Bella in the past, she had been a good kid, happy as they come. But now? She didn't look happy. Her clothes weren't as bright as they used to be, she had that iPod with her at all times—I couldn't even remember seeing it before—and she always looked tired. _With good reason, _I reminded I had checked on her the other night she had obviously been feigning sleep for my benefit. It hadn't fooled me—Bella was a horrible actress—but I had left her in peace, choosing not to ask and instead just contemplated all the questions running through my head.

Why wasn't Bella sleeping? Why were her clothes so dark? What was the iPod for? Why had I seen Edward Cullen's Volvo leaving the house this morning? And why the HELL had Bella been in it?

Maybe Edward was the reason for Bella's drastic change. The Cullens were good people and I had never gotten any trouble from them, but hey, there was a first for everything. I decided then and there at the dinner table that I would do my best to keep her away from him. Bella needed a friend who would make her happy, not depressed like she seemed to be now. I mused over this for awhile before deciding Jacob Black would be a perfect friend for her.

Jake and Bella had been friends when they were little, there was no saying it couldn't happen again. I made plans to invite Billy and Jacob over for dinner Sunday. Billy was always up for a little big screen time and there was a football game on Sunday night. I knew Jake would love to see Bella, so Billy wouldn't have a hard time convincing him. Jake was an interesting kid, he would keep Bella entertained. I smiled a little as I thought of Bella being happy again.

"So, Bella... I was thinking of inviting the Blacks over for dinner Sunday. What do you think?" I asked nonchalantly, shoving another forkful of potatoes in my mouth and looking at her expectantly.

She finished chewing her food before she answered quietly and to the point. "Sure." I frowned. Bella had always gotten excited about everything, or at least commented further on it. I was getting slightly fed up with this change.

'_What happened to my daughter?__'_

I contemplated this question seriously for the rest of dinner and the entire time I stared at a re-run of a game I had already seen. By the time I shut the TV off and headed to bed I had a good enough answer to the question for me.

I had no idea what was wrong, but if it had to do with Edward Cullen, I would get my gun and shoot him. '_Anything for Bella.__'_

_BPOV_

I snapped my eyes open and found myself staring at something cotton candy pink. I blinked and sat up.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" a voice chirped. The voice was coming from the cotton candy pink thing in front of me. I realized it was a shirt.

"Alice? What are you doing here?" I asked blearily, rubbing my eyes. "Where's Edward?"

"Oh, he left just a second ago," Alice assured me. "And I'm here to get you ready for your date!"

I suddenly realized what day it was. Saturday, the day of mine and Edward's date. And, as she had promised at school the other day, Alice was here to "doll me up."

"What time is it?" I inquired, swinging my legs out of bed and staggering as I stood up, catching myself on the bedside table.

"Um...almost nine thirty in the morning," Alice replied. Turning to my desk, she picked up a stack of clothes and tossed them to me. Amazingly, I managed to catch most of them, only a piece of blue fabric falling to the floor. Alice picked it up quickly and dropped it into my arms. "Go shower and put those on," she ordered, smiling.

Grudgingly I headed towards the bathroom. I slammed the door closed behind me to show Alice my contempt for having to get up early—at least, it was early for the weekend—and turned on the shower, stripping off my pyjamas while I waited for it to warm up. As soon as it was the perfect temperature, I got in and contemplated the coming day.

I knew Edward and I would be doing something private as opposed to something out in the open where I could possibly be triggered, as Edward called it. I wondered what exactly Edward had planned for us. He had said before that we would be going to a movie and eating dinner, but given the fact that he was picking me up at 11:30 AM, I wasn't so sure. Maybe he was planning something more elaborate.

I gave up on wondering, knowing it would get me nowhere, and finished rinsing the strawberry scented conditioner out of my hair. I towelled myself off and proceeded to examine the clothes Alice had given me.

It surprised me that I actually liked the clothes Alice had picked. She had given me navy blue straight leg jeans and a lighter blue halter top. I pulled them both on after my underwear and appraised myself in the mirror. I smirked into the mirror. _'__Why is it always blue?__'_ I wondered, turning to go back to my bedroom.

In the bedroom, Alice was standing behind my desk chair, holding a hair dryer in one hand and a brush in the other. She gave an overly theatrical cackle and gestured to the chair with the hairbrush. "Sit down, my pretty, and I will make you bee-yoo-tifull!"

I rolled my eyes and complied, knowing I had no other choice. She immediately flicked on the blow dryer and attacked my hair with the hairbrush.

"How did you get in, anyways?" I asked after she had finally ceased her assault with the hair dryer.

"Oh, Charlie let me in," Alice replied nonchalantly. "He likes me a lot, for some reason." She unplugged the dryer and replaced it with the straightener cord. I winced, thinking of the burning hot ceramic plates that were soon going to be frying my poor hair—hopefully not my scalp as well. I nodded thoughtfully in response to her admission, scrunching my eyes closed in anticipation of the dreaded straightener.

Almost an hour later, Alice finished her assault on my hair and dropped a tube of lip gloss into my lap. I picked it up and read the name of it. _Vanilla Ice Cream_. I looked up at Alice, frowning. She was smirking.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"For cereal!" Alice twittered back at me. I sighed and applied the lip gloss. I was sure it could be a lot worse than just ice cream flavoured lip gloss. Alice then forced me to put on a thick silver bangle bracelet. "Now look at yourself in the mirror," Alice urged, pushing me out of the chair towards my mirror. I groaned half-heartedly and looked.

Alice had twisted my hair up into some weird, messy bun thing, with pieces of my hair sticking weirdly out of it. It was odd, but I had to admit I looked good.

"Do you like it?" Alice bounced on the balls of her feet anxiously.

"Yeah, Alice, I do. Thanks," I told her. Just then, the doorbell rang and I perked up. I rushed down the stairs and threw open the door to reveal Edward in all his beautiful godliness. I almost sighed in bedazzlement.

"Hi," Edward said, revealing all his perfect white teeth in a wide smile.

"This is new," I commented. "You both said 'hi' to me and actually knocked on my door. You're getting less stalker-like every day, Edward."

He grinned and walked in the door, closing it casually behind him. "Are you all ready to go?" he asked. I nodded enthusiastically, only vaguely aware of the fact that I must look like an idiot. "Really?" Edward repeated skeptically.

"Yeah, Alice got me all dolled up—she physically attacked me with hair products. So I'm positive that I'm good to go," I told him cheerfully, not understanding why he was so reluctant to leave.

"Well then..." Edward said, raising an eyebrow. "I was wondering if it was the new fashion to go barefoot, or if Alice just wants me to carry you everywhere." I looked down at my feet and blushed. They were indeed bare. Alice rushed down the stairs, holding what I presumed where shoes in her hands.

"Here," she said, thrusting them at me. I took them, but didn't start to put them on.

"No," I told her, shoving the at least three inch high silver heels back at her.

"Come on, Bella. They match your jewellery!" Alice insisted, pushing the shoes towards me. I frowned. She wanted me to wear the shoes just because I was wearing a silver bracelet? Were there not other silver shoes in the world? I asked Alice as much, and she sighed.

"Yes, Bella, but these were the first ones I grabbed when I ran back to our house to get you shoes. Just put them on."

"No." I saw Edward smile out of the corner of my eye. Alice's expression hardened.

"Look, Bella, this can be easy, or this can be hard. Put. The. Shoes. On. Now."

"It's just going to have to be hard, then. I'm not putting those shoes on." I folded my arms over my chest and glared at Alice. She glared back and we proceeded to have a staring contest until Edward finally interrupted.

"Alice, just go get _Bella's_ other shoes," he said wearily. He handed Alice his car keys and Alice huffed, but obliged, slamming the door behind her as she went. I sighed.

"I was just wondering..." Edward said slowly. "Why didn't you want to wear the shoes?" I gaped at him.

"Did you _see_ them? If I wore those I'd fall on my face!" I exclaimed. Edward laughed.

"Oh, but I'd be there to catch you," he whispered, wrapping me up in his arms. I sighed and leaned into him. We stayed like that until Alice burst back through the front door much sooner than she should have.

"Here," she groused, throwing a pair of shoes at us. Edward deftly caught them—good thing, too. I wouldn't have even come close to touching them if I'd tried. I examined them. They were much more practical, silver flats with a little bow on the front. I slid them onto my feet and then turned to Alice, who was sulking on the couch.

"Thanks, Alice. I really appreciate the help," I told her, sincerely meaning every word. She may be a stubborn little pixie, but she was lovable all the same.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, but I saw a small smile on her face. I grinned and turned to Edward.

"Shall we go?" I asked, linking my arm through his.

"Indeed," Edward replied, leading me out the door.

"Bye, Alice!" I called over my shoulder just before the door closed.

The Volvo was parked haphazardly across the driveway, the front towards the door of the house, a testament to Alice's reckless fast driving, the reason she hadn't taken very long to get me different shoes. Edward went to the passenger's side and opened the door for me. I slid in, smiling up at him.

_EPOV_

I opened the car door for _Bella_, waiting until she buckled in before closing it. I dashed - possibly too quickly - to the driver's side and entered, beaming at her as she jumped from the quick movement.

"You need to stop that!" she hissed, shaking her head. "You're gonna give me a heart attack some day."

I laughed and shook my head along with her, teasing. "I'll just have to give you CPR if that should happen."

I glanced at _Bella_ as her breath hitched and her face blushing, filling the car with that taunting scent. I smiled and took her hand in mine after putting the car in drive. I had planned for us to go to the meadow today, and then to my home afterward - _Bella_ was becoming a larger and larger portion of my life, so it was best that she met them soon.

She interlaced our fingers tightly and looked out the window, her face dropping slightly. I turned further to her and cocked an eyebrow.

"Is everything all right, _Bella_?" I asked, wondering if she was okay. She jumped again, turning back to me and forcing a smile.

"Yes, everything's fine. Just… um…" she trailed off, looking away, her face bright red. I let go of her hand and tilted her chin so we stared at each other eye-to-eye.

"What is it, _Bella_?" I whispered, stroking her cheek lightly. Her breathing hitched again and she stopped breathing altogether. I smiled and reminded her to breath before turning my attention back to the road - she might be more able to speak with me staring at her.

"I'm just… I'm just nervous. This is the first date I've ever been on," she admitted. I chuckled and peeked at her, interlacing our fingers again.

"Mine too," I confessed.

We spent the rest of the car ride in a comfortable silence. Arriving just before eleven in the morning, I parked the car on the side of the road and grinned at a confused _Bella_. I ran over to her side of the car and helped her out, grabbing a picnic basket from behind.

With her… condition and preferences, I figured we'd enjoy a small lunch in the meadow I had once found. I wouldn't eat anything, obviously, but I brought more than enough for her to choose from.

"Why are we in the middle of no where?" she asked, confused. I shook my head and took her hand in mine as I led her into the greenery. After 30 minutes of mild hiking, we arrived at the clearing.

Bella stood frozen as she took in the sights before her, and I hoped she liked all of it. She glanced at me from over her shoulder and had small tears forming in her eyes. I dropped the picnic basket and pulled her to me.

"Oh, _Bella_, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Do you want to go somewhere fancier? Perhaps a restaurant?" I asked, but she shook her head against my chest.

"No, it's perfect, thank you."

I smiled, happy I had done just what she would have wanted. I took her hand and led her to a soft spot, the blanket falling under us as I quickly placed all the items in their respective spots.

I spent the better part of the afternoon simply talking to _Bella_, taking in more of her past. It got more and more complex as time went on, to the point where I felt the venom pooling in my mouth.

The things she had gone through were torturous and intense - her suffering extreme and severe.

By the time it was the late afternoon, I had to put my hand up and ask her to stop - it has become too much to listen to. I didn't know what I was going to do if I heard anymore.

"_Bella_," I began, trying to change the topic. "How would you like to come to my house?"

I packed up all of the food, which she had barely touched - much to my dismay - and helped her to her feet.

"To your house?" Bella asked. "As in, meeting your family? Your parents? Your... Emmett?" '_The thought of Emmett anywhere near me was somewhat frightening.'_

"Yes, although I assure you that Emmett is not 'mine,'" I laughed. Bella grimaced. "Come on, Bella. They're not that bad. In fact, they're not bad at all," I continued to entice her as we walked back to the car.

"Um… I guess…" she whispered, still unsure by her expression.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," I assured her. She nodded with more conviction and smiled as I brought my arm around her shoulder.

Once in the car, I sped off toward the house. I was oddly anxious to introduce her to my family, wondering what they would think of her.

~*~

Everyone stared at everyone else from across the couches in the living room. _Bella_ sat next to me, huddled away from the others who simply watched her.

Emmett tried to greet _Bella_ widely, only to be pushed back by me for scaring her - I didn't need her to become even more traumatic.

Jasper stayed across the room, trying not to breathe or think. His mind was stuck on a loop of the Civil War generals.

Esme and Carlisle stayed confident and kind, but they too seemed to think something was off about _Bella_.

And Rosalie - it took all my strength not to rip her to shreds for her thoughts toward _Bella_, malicious and cruel. She kept calling her weird and strange, among other things, in her mind - without bothering to hide anything from me.

The only person I could rely on was Alice, who seemed to be hiding something as well. When nightfall approached, I told them I'd be taking _Bella_ home - the venom dripping in my voice in the distaste of their behavior. _Bella_ looked absolutely horrified by the experience. I knew better next time.

"Edward, wait! I'll take Bella home, you stay here! I want to pick out her outfit for tomorrow," Alice offered. I opened my mouth to argue, but she had already grabbed _Bella_ and dashed out the door. I growled lightly before turning to my family.

"And what was with all of you?" I demanded, annoyed and irritated.

They each went through, describing how they felt she was lying about something. Jasper talked about the feelings rushing off of her, only to be supported by the others. I glared at each one before storming toward the stairs.

"You'll all leave her alone - and don't say anything else about her," I yelled, furious. Why would they think she was lying about something? She was so haunted, so hurt - she was simply confused and nervous around them. Couldn't they see?

I knew I'd have to speak to someone else. Anyone else.

My mind jumped to Angela. She would be going out with _Bella_ tomorrow. I'd speak to her at school… something was troubling _Bella_, and I knew I had to figure it out and help her.

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: As the story comes to a close, the updates come further and further in between. However, we only have two more chapters left!

**TRDancer:** Whee! I love updating. :D Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

_BPOV_

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as I waved goodbye to Angela with the hand that wasn't holding the shopping bag that held the shoes Angela had insisted I buy. My mind whirled and my head ached. I couldn't keep my thoughts straight. Angela had been throwing a lot of questions at me over the course of the day, so many that I wasn't sure what I'd told her, what I'd told Edward and what had really happened to me (that was absurd, hadn't nothing at all happened?)

I slammed the front door closed behind me and called out a hello to Charlie, but it wasn't answered. Instead, I heard cheers coming from the living room, and a quick inspection of the kitchen table found an open box of pizza—and a boy that I recognized as Jacob Black stuffing his face with it.

I dropped my shopping bag next to the table and grabbed a plate from the cupboard, sliding a slice onto it and turning to leave. By that time Jacob had managed to swallow his gigantic mouthful of pizza and called out after me, "Bella!" He attempted to grab my shoulder, but I side-stepped out of the way, ducking a bit. "Bella?" he asked, confused. I ignored him, heading into the living room and sitting down next to Charlie. He and Billy were watching some football game on TV, and it cut to commercial just as I took a bite of the pizza.

"Hey, Bells, how was your day?" he asked me. I shrugged in response, chewing the pizza slowly. "Buy anything good?" I shrugged and half-nodded, still chewing.

"Where did you go?" Jacob interjected. I took another big bite of my pizza and shook my head.

"Oh, Bella went shopping in Port Angeles with one of her friends... Angela, I think?" Charlie looked at me for affirmation and I nodded, still chewing very slowly on the pizza.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door but before I could make my escape Jacob had jumped up with an enthusiastic, "I'll get it!"

I stayed resolutely in my spot on the couch, taking another bite of the pizza. Jacob came back into the living room with a frown on his face. "It was for Bella," he said, gesturing to the person that had followed him in.

Edward smiled at me and my heart jumped. I felt my mouth spread involuntarily into a smile. "Hello, Bella, Charlie, Billy," Edward greeted us all. "Bella, do you want to go up to your room?"

I nodded and got up from the couch, bringing my pizza with me and following Edward up the stairs to my room. The door clicked behind him and I threw myself down on the bed, my pizza abandoned on the bedside table.

"Thank God," I breathed out. "I thought I was going to have to sit there all night with Jacob pestering me."

_JPOV_

When Charlie called and invited Billy and me over for dinner and the football game, I jumped at the chance. I knew Bella was staying with her dad now, and I was excited to come see her.

What I wasn't expecting was her reaction to me. It just didn't make much sense to me. Not talking, not letting me touch her, and then when that Cullen guy showed up she just went off with him without a word. Something was going on here.

"I'm going to the washroom," I said to Charlie and Billy. They didn't acknowledge me, just stared at the TV screen. I headed up the stairs with no intention whatsoever of going to the washroom.

Quietly, I crept up to Bella's door and pressed my ear against it. I could hear voices inside—Bella's voice. Aha, so she _could_ talk.

_"So they made you cut yourself, steal things for them, do drugs, and they made you break up with their boyfriends for them, which usually ended in their boyfriends beating you up and calling you a liar?" _I heard Edward say. I wrinkled my eyebrows. What was he talking about?

_"Uh... yeah... that's what happened..." _Bella's voice sounded unsure.

_"Oh, and there was the credit card incident as well," _Edward speculated.

_"Um, yeah. Yes," _Bella agreed. I shook my head. To me, it sounded like Bella was lying.

_"God, I can't believe they made you do all of that. I just... wow,"_ Edward fumed. I raised my eyebrows. Edward believed her? How could he? I could tell she was lying and I couldn't even see her. I couldn't let this go on any longer. Before I could think over what I was doing, I turned the doorknob to Bella's room and opened it.

Bella was sitting on the bed and Edward was standing up, facing away from me. I raised my hand and pointed at Bella. "She's lying!" I said loudly. My brain filter was most definitely turned off at that moment.

Edward spun to face me. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice surprisingly calm.

It was then that I realized that I didn't really have anything but gut instinct to back me up.

"Have you been listening to her? Everything she says sounds unsure—"

"How long have you been listening for, anyways?" Edward asked me, his voice taking on an edge.

"I, uh, not long..."

"I think the better question would actually be _why_ were you listening, Jacob?" Edward inquired, taking a step toward me. I took a step back.

"I was—" I tried to explain that I was just worried about Bella, but Edward cut me off again.

"I don't even want to know. Just stay away from Bella, alright?"

"Why are you her keeper? Can't Bella make her own decisions?" I challenged, glancing at Bella. She was still sitting on the bed, her eyes wide, flicking back and forth between Edward and me.

"Bella doesn't have that capability at the moment," Edward said. "Now, will you please leave?"

Taking one last look at Bella, I turned and left her room, though everything in me was saying that it was the wrong move.

_BPOV_

Edward told me he needed to talk to someone and rushed off after Spanish, so I grabbed an apple and headed to our usual table at the back of the cafeteria. I put my iPod in and hit shuffle. It started to blast 'You're Gonna Go Far Kid' by The Offspring way too loud and I turned it down hastily, wondering how it ever got that loud in the first place.

Edward didn't come back all through lunch hour and I rushed into Biology just before the bell rang. He didn't show for that class either, and I trudged to gym class slowly. I wondered where he could have gone, and possible reasons why he wouldn't have told me he was going there. My head hurt and when I came into the gym five minutes late, the coach immediately ordered me to go home because I looked like crap. An inspection of myself in the girls change room mirrors proved the statement true.

I headed out to my truck, glad I'd driven myself to school today. When I got back to my house I sat down on the couch and stared at the ceiling, wondering again where Edward had gone. It wasn't long before my thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. I jumped up to answer it, hoping it was Edward.

When the door opened, I was disappointed to see it was not Edward, but his sister, Alice. She cocked her head at me and asked, "Is Edward here?"

Suddenly, it hit me that he was gone and I broke down into sobs. "No, Alice, I don't know where he is, he just left at lunch. He told me had to talk to someone and he never came back. What did I do?"

"I'm sure you didn't do anything, Bella," Alice assured me, looking wary.

"Are you sure, Alice? Are you sure I didn't do anything?" I sobbed out, sitting down hard in one of the dining room table chairs. Alice kneeled down in front of me.

"I'm positive," she said.

But I knew she was wrong. I had done something wrong. I had lied to him—and that was bad. And why I was only realizing that now, I had no idea.

* * *

**Leon and TRD are too lazy--we mean, busy--to write ANs. Review anyways, because we're not too busy to reply to them. :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

_EPOV_

Things had been escalating lately. _Bella_'s fears and worries seemed to grow exponentially. After I had left Bella, I went to speak to Angela.

We came to discover the true feat of her past was far more staggering than we had assumed. I saw all the things that Bella had shared with Angela in her mind, and I couldn't explain my rage. Poor, innocent Bella had suffered so much, and I knew I had to make it right.

I immediately left for Phoenix, ready to destroy these beasts who themselves had destroyed _Bella_. I stalked the creatures she had described in her mind at her high school, until that night I had a chance to confront one of them.

_"I have no idea what you're talking about, weirdo," she said_, while her thoughts were far more lewd and inviting toward me. I growled, demanding to know had happened to _Bella. _After hours of interrogation, which the girl only hoped would involve some sort of 'punishment,' and reading her mind, I came to a conclusion.

Jacob Black was right. _Bella_ was lying to me.

I flew back to Phoenix, furious. How could she lie to me? About something so deranged? I returned to school and ignored her at every chance. I was upset and so hurt, knowing someone who was as sweet as _Bella_ had to be a liar. It was too good to be true.

When I drove home, Alice stopped me outside of the doorway.

"Edward," she began. I scowled, not liking where this was going. I couldn't read her mind because she was repeating the Russian alphabet over and over. "I just want you to remember… you weren't honest with her."

I froze, the understanding dawning me. Could I… really be upset at her? Didn't I, too, lie? I ran my fingers through my hair and dropped my head into my hands - I had messed this up big time.

_BPOV_

Two days later and Edward still hadn't come back. I dragged myself out of bed on Wednesday morning still dead tired and dreading the coming day at school. I quickly showered and dressed, and a quick glance at the clock in the kitchen on my way out the door showed that they hadn't been quick enough. I panicked, running for my truck and driving as fast as the broken down old thing could take to the school. _'__Thing has never been a more fitting nickname.__'_

I rushed to my first class and made it just as the bell rang. I breathed a sigh of relief and slumped into my seat. I wouldn't have noticed Edward if it hadn't been for the flash of his hair in the light as his head whipped the other way. I looked curiously over at him, but he didn't turn his head back in my direction, so I turned back to the teacher. I would talk to him later, I supposed.

Edward ignored me all through first and second period, though I caught him staring at me a couple times with a strange look on his face. Finally, in third period, since I wasn't so preoccupied with watching him, I was able to think over what was going on.

Where had Edward gone, and what could have been there to cause him to come back and ignore me like this? It was a complete one eighty from his behaviour before his disappearance. Was it possible that he'd found out that I'd been lying?

That idea haunted me for the rest of the day, right up until I drove myself home after enduring glares from all the Cullens—aside from Alice, strangely enough—from across the parking lot. The glares just made me even more certain that Edward knew I had been lying, and I mentally kicked myself for not predicting this outcome before I'd ever decided to come to Forks.

When I pulled up to the house there was an unfamiliar car parked outside and someone leaning against the front door. As I got closer, I identified that someone to be Jacob Black. I sighed. What the hell was he doing here?

"Hello, Bella," he called out as I walked up the porch steps. I waved weakly. "Now, now, Bella, come on and give me a proper hello. I know you've got a voice. There's no one else around."

I sighed again. _'__What could it hurt?__'_"Hi, Jacob. Can you move?" I asked. He smiled and got out of my way. I unlocked the door and went inside. Jacob followed me.

"So, where's Edward?" he asked. "I thought he never left your side, being all protective over you and everything."

I dropped my backpack next to the kitchen table and turned to Jacob. "I don't know, probably at his house. He's kind of ignoring me right now."

"Would that be because you lied to him?" Jacob inquired, raising one eyebrow.

"I guess so," I mumbled.

"He figured it out then? 'Bout time. No offence, Bella, but you are not a good liar."

I groaned. "I know. Oh God, Jake, what am I supposed to do?"

Jacob shrugged. "How'd he figure out you were lying?"

"I have no idea."

"Then just go tell him right now that you were lying. If he really gives a crap about you, he'll forgive you. And if he doesn't, then he really wasn't worth it, was he?"

On a whim I threw my arms around Jacob, giving him the biggest hug I could manage. "Thanks, Jake."

"Lemme know how it goes," he called after me as I ran out to my truck.

I drove in the direction of the Cullen house. I had no idea what I was going to say, but I figured if I'd managed to lie without planning ahead, then it couldn't be very hard to tell the truth.

I scanned the road ahead carefully for the turn-off, afraid I'd miss it, but I didn't. I drove down the long path and parked in the yard, hopping out of the truck and walking towards the front door. I knocked and almost immediately it swung open to reveal Rosalie. She didn't give me a chance to speak.

"He doesn't want to talk to you," she said, her tone bored.

"But I have to tell him something," I protested.

Rosalie scoffed. "He has better things to do than listen to your pathetic little lies."

"I'm not going to lie this time," I insisted. "I want to tell him the truth!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes and the door slammed in my face. I jumped back, startled, then just stood staring, as if the door was just going to magically open again, and there Edward would stand, ready to take me back into his arms.

The realization that that would never happen made me break down into tears and I sat down heavily on the porch steps. I buried my face into my hands and sobbed, cursing myself for being such an idiot. _'__Why the fuck did I do this? I__'__m such a retard; I don__'__t even deserve to live__—__not without Edward. Wasting a perfectly good thing with all my lies, just because I needed something interesting to happen...__' _I continued my mental rant, calling myself every swear I knew in my head, just because I could, and because I deserved it.

I was so wrapped up in my name-calling that I didn't even notice that Edward had come out of the house until he was prying my hands away from my face.

"Bella, stop projecting. Your profanity is hurting my brain cells. You're right, your lies were pointless, but I can understand why you did it. I can understand boredom." He laughed. "And besides, Bella, I'm being a hypocrite. I'm lying to you, too. You see, I never told you something about me, something important..." He paused and I stared at him, captivated by the fact he was speaking to me again. "Bella, I'm a vampire."

I laughed. "You mean, like, a blood-drinking, hiding from the sun, garlic fearing vampire? I knew there was something odd about you..."

"Well, I don't have a problem with garlic, except for the fact that it smells absolutely disgusting, and I only hide from the sun because it would definitely tip off humans—remind me to show you sometime. But otherwise, yes, a blood-drinking, cold skinned, immortal vampire."

"And don't forget this odd eye colour thing you've got going on," I speculated, staring into his now butterscotch coloured eyes. "Shouldn't they be red or something? Wouldn't that make a bit more sense?"

"Vampires that drink human blood have red eyes, but we—my family and I—drink animal blood, so we have gold eyes," Edward explained.

"Oh," I mumbled. "So, do you forgive me?"

He nodded and hugged me and kissed me, and we lived happily ever after.

Until he had to eat my uterus. That wasn't so much fun.

**The End**

* * *

**Leon McFrenchington**: Okay, so here's the reason for the quick finish and understanding. Did you notice in all the Twilight books, things are solved with… um… _no conflict_? Yeah. There you go. Hope you enjoyed. This is a _parody_. We were making fun of Twilight. This is part of that.

**TRDancer: **And there is NO sequel. Because TRD, she's afraid of them. They make her hide behind couches. Sometimes even rocks.

And who loves the last line? *raises hand*

Review, it's your last chance!


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